


Monocamp: The Camping Trip of Mutual Killing

by btreese



Series: RIMI [1]
Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types
Genre: Fan Killing Game (Dangan Ronpa), Fourth Wall Breaking, Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Mild Gore, Swearing, Training Montages, awkward team building activities, not so serious for the first chapters but chapter 3-6 will be better, one (1) tiny scene with alcohol, shitty opera, the cha cha slide, there's a karaoke scene, throwing parties to distract people from thinking about their dead friends, uncomfortable death jokes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-22
Updated: 2018-08-28
Packaged: 2019-06-14 17:16:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 11
Words: 120,577
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15393573
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/btreese/pseuds/btreese
Summary: The sixteen students of R.I.M.I's 43rd class find themselves trapped in a strange summer camp situated on a series of islands, and the only way out is to play Monokuma's killing game.Chapter 2 is in progress.Updates and other information can be found at rimiseries.tumblr.com.





	1. Introduction: What is RIMI?

**Author's Note:**

> The first of two parts of the RIMI Series. Character art, updates and the report card can be found on rimiseries.tumblr.com. The story is also being hosted on the tumblr blog. Updates are sporadic. Hope you enjoy!

As the years went on, world leaders from all over the world’s regions began to took notice of select young people of remarkable talent. These children, they’d say, they were like prodigies. They were exceptionally well versed in what they did, whether it be a role that required years of study and practice, such as a mathematician or a strategist, or a mere hobby that the children managed to excel in, like video games or skateboarding. Whatever it was they excelled in, they were acknowledged for it. Talent and good ideas are almost never ignored, anyway.  
And so, to accommodate their gifts and abilities and foster them to their greatest potential, world leaders across the regions decided to build a specialized, unorthodox academy for only the brightest and talented teenagers in the world. The Royal Institute For Masterful Individuals, often shortened to RIMI, later became known to the world as a prestigious, elite academy. The school was only for the best of the best, and if the letters RIMI popped up on one’s résumé, that would be enough to get that particular individual into whatever they wished.  
As these students were regarded as the hopes of the new generation, the headmaster cared a lot for them. The dormitories were, according to online buzz, incredibly comfortable and pleasant to live in. The cafeteria food was top notch, and the teachers there taught in an innovative and involved manner. They truly cared about the success and wellbeing of their students.  
The student body, however, was incredibly tiny. Unlike an average public high school, RIMI only accommodated 15 talented young individuals in each year’s class. Along with the 15 students was a completely average teenager, who was, for the most part, devoid of any interesting traits that would normally catch the sights of the academy. This allowed for 60 talented students to study at the school at once, along with 4 lucky ducks who managed to receive higher levels of education simply by mere chance.  
The school was seen as immensely prestigious. Middle schoolers all over the world dreamed of attending, but they all knew it was a hopeless case. Firstly, you couldn’t simply apply for this academy. There were no entrance exams. Instead, the school itself had to take notice of one’s abilities in a certain field. It was only then when a student would be accepted into the class. Of course, recommendation letters were permitted, but a large number of them went ignored.

It was the night of September 4th— the night before Class 43’s freshman orientation ceremony at RIMI. A few lucky students lived within driving distance of the school, while others needed to check in at nearby hotels for just the night. Acceptance letters placed on their nightstands, the 16 students drifted off to sleep.  
From then on, the students would form meaningful bonds with each other that would definitely affect their futures. Over the next four years, they’d create memories full of laughter and bliss that they’d forever look back on fondly.  
Tomorrow would be the start of a new, hopeful future.  
Tomorrow was their first day of classes at the Royal Institute for Masterful Individuals.


	2. Prologue: Sixteen Rise

The students did not wake in the bedrooms they had fallen asleep in the night before. Still drowsy from their slumber, they yawned and rubbed their eyes, glancing curiously around at their new surroundings. To their surprise, they weren’t in a space even remotely similar to a bedroom. Instead, the group found themselves in a strange grassy area. Towering over them were trees so tall they seemed to touch the sky— redwoods, they presumed. The orange rays of the sunset shone through the leaves, casting spots of light that danced about the earth’s surface as the wind blew. Though the area had a serene and welcoming appearance, the students just knew that something was off.

“Where... are we?” asked a girl with a dark pixie cut, breaking the silence.  
“We are in the forest!” piped up a small girl with ginger twin braids, raising a finger. “As to why we are in the forest… I do not know yet.” She let out a yawn as she stretched her arms and legs. “Aahhh…. that is strange,” she remarked. “Why can I not see why we’re here?”  
“The hell do you mean, “see”?” muttered a tall boy with striking teal hair, rubbing against his temples.  
The girl giggled. “Oh! I’m a seer, y’know,” she declared, a mischievous smile spreading across her face. Her playful expression then disappeared, replaced quickly with a confused one. “But why can’t I see anything? This is so… weird.”  
“Wow, a seer?” exclaimed a boy with caramel blond hair, his hands brought up to his cheeks in awe. “That’s so cool! Tell me my fortune.”  
“Hmm… well, it is not exactly a fortune, but… your name starts with the letter ‘N’, does it not?” she said slowly. The boy gasped.  
“Holy damn… you’re actually correct! Congratulations!” The boy grinned. ”But then again... seers are just phony old scam artists, so it was just a lucky guess, right?” This clearly struck a nerve, as the shorter girl gasped and brought her hands to her chest.  
“Excuse you!” she yelled. “Seers like me have real psychic abilities, dum-dum! Don’t compare me to your typical carnival frauds! I don’t hold the title of the Super Stellar Seer for nothing!”

“Hold on a second…” A girl with a blonde bun and a forest green coat stood up and peered at the shorter ginger. “You said you were, like, one of those Super Stellars. Did I hear that right?”  
The ginger girl replied with a hearty nod. “Mhm! It’s my crowning achievement. They call me Penelope Avery Claire, the Super Stellar Seer! But… people just call me ‘Penny’ for short!” She looked away sheepishly. “But… um, I’m a Super Stellar, that’s right, but I haven’t actually started studying at RIMI yet. Today’s my freshman orientation, I think.”  
The teal haired boy’s eyes widened. “W-wait! Ugh! Today’s the freshman orientation!” Beads of sweat formed on his face as he visibly began to panic. “God damn it! I’m in the freshman class too! We’re gonna miss our orientation!!” The boy burst into tears as he dropped to the floor. “Now, as I am stuck in the wilderness, the world will never get to hear the sick beats of I, the Super Stellar DJ, Blake Marcato! How could this be…? This is a tragedy!”

A boy with a rather sophisticated getup groaned. “Stop with your foolish theatrics,” he grumbled. He turned to the rest of the students. “Now, I believe we are all apart of the 43rd class of RIMI, as I am a Super Stellar student as well. My name is Marion Spruce, the Super Stellar Puppeteer. Now, if anyone has any objections to my theory, please raise them now.” When silence followed, he continued. “Good. Now first, we’re going to figure out where exactly we are, who brought us here, and why we are here.”  
Then, a boy with messy brown hair and a flower crown spoke up. “U-um… I think we should explore the area a little bit first… maybe we’ll be able to find some landmarks,” he suggested meekly. “T-then, we can determine where exactly we are.”  
Marion nodded with approval. “Good idea. What’s your name, kid?”  
“Saffron.... Saffron Chenery. I’m, uh, the Super Stellar Botanist, and—”  
“Cool, cool, let’s get moving.”

Most of the remaining group of 6 obliged with Marion’s orders, as they were still in a somnolent state and really didn’t feel like dealing with such an intimidating individual. Collectively, they’ve decided that Marion was probably not somebody they’d want to anger. However, the boy with caramel hair hummed as he bounded over to a bush quite the while away from the group. “Huh…? What’s this?” he asked innocently, loudly enough for the rest of the group to hear. Marion turned to glare at the boy, who was now lifting up leaves and branches.  
“What are you trying to accomplish here…?” called Marion. “Get over here and stop wasting time.”  
The girl with the pixie cut shot a glare at Marion. “Stop. I want to see what he found, it could possibly be important. Give him a chance.”

The boy with caramel hair grinned mischievously at the group as he slowly lifted up the branches. “Thanks, lady! Now... what could the mystery object under this bush be? A sack of money? A dead body? A horse?!” When he had finally cleared up enough of the branches, the group was taken aback from the sight in front of them.  
Underneath the bush’s leaves and branches was a small, unconscious blond boy. A slightly oversized brown hat rested beside his mop of blonde hair, and his shirt was rather crinkled and scratched due to the sticks and leaves surrounding him. The boy’s finder first stared down at the body in horror, but his expression quickly changed to a lighter one. He turned back to the rest of the group with an innocent smile. “Wow! I was right! It was a dead body! Guess there’s another psychic in the house, am I right?”

Penny returned a glare, then hurried over to the seemingly unconscious boy. “Nolan, how could you ever take this so lightly?” she scolded, craning her neck to look up at the caramel haired boy. “A dead body definitely isn’t something to joke about!” Nolan smirked.  
“Wow, I guess you’re a real seer after all! I mean, you even got my name right!” he cackled. “Great work!”  
“Dude, is that actually a dead body... ? Like, for reals?!” Blake had gone pale at the sight of the dead body, and appeared as if he was going to faint any minute. “Yo, what if we’re trapped in some horror game in the forest? This shit’s crazy, man! Totally NOT cool, bros!”  
“Every word you utter makes me want to end it all,” groaned Marion. “The body doesn’t matter, let’s go.”

 

“Actually, I think I matter quite a bit,” said the body.

“DUDE! Holy shit, it’s a zombie!!” shrieked Blake, who had began to use the girl with the blonde bun as a human shield. “The apocalypse is upon us!” Tears had began to stream down Blake’s cheeks. “We’re all gonna die here!”  
“Nobody’s going to die here!” yelled the girl with the pixie cut.  
“You can’t guarantee anything!”

She took a deep breath. “Okay, listen up, everyone,” she began, gathering the attention of the group. “I understand that we’re all freaking out about our current situation, but really, all we need in this group is a bit of organization and teamwork. I believe that first, we should properly introduce ourselves—”  
“I already did, dumbshit, do you have ears?” said Marion.  
“You’re so overly hostile,” remarked the girl, her demeanor calm. “I meant that anyone who hasn’t introduced themselves should proceed to do so. I’ll go first. My name is Rowan Auguste, and I’m the Super Stellar Pathologist.”  
“A… pathologist?” asked Saffron quietly. “May I ask what exactly that is…?”  
Rowan appeared amused by Saffron’s question. “I’ll gladly explain what pathology is, just for you. Pathology is defined as the study of the causes and effects of diseases. I have no knowledge regarding the art of clearing paths, nor do I have the physical strength to do such a thing as a consistent job. Now, I believe next would be—”

“Me-e-e!” sang the girl with the blonde bun. “It’s me! The name’s Valerie Millstein! I am our class’s very own Super Stellar Lucky Student!” She beamed, clasping her hands together. “I’m so thankful that a little nobody like me managed to win the national lottery! It’s a fuckin’ miracle, really!”  
Blake’s heart jumped, and his eyes darted around to see if anyone had heard Valerie’s outburst. So much for discretion. “K-keep it down! What if, like, a wolf hears you or something?”  
“Yeah, Valerie. What if a horse hears you?” chimed in Nolan.

The newly awakened boy let out a big yawn. “I think it’s my turn now.” He gave a nonchalant wave. “Hello. I’m Jasper Bayers, the Super Stellar Jeweler. Excited to be here.”  
“You don’t sound very excited to be here,” remarked Penny. Jasper simply shrugged at the Seer.  
“Anyway, thank you, Rowan, for that interruption,” said Marion loudly. Rowan scowled. “Now, let’s get back to searching the area. Our ensured safety is number one priority, people.”  
Valerie stared at him quizzically. “Huh…? Are we, like, in danger or something?”  
“Haven’t you been paying attention?” asked Marion. “We could’ve been kidnapped and dropped off in the forest, for all we know! Lord, this class is plain stupid. How did any of you get into RIMI, anyway?”

Saffron and Jasper weren’t listening to Marion’s complaints. Instead, they were bent down, observing the forest’s natural wonders— Jasper took an interest in the rocks, and Saffron the flora.  
“Oh, these rocks look so strange...” mused Jasper, picking up an oddly shaped one. He inspected it, and decided that it could be of some use later. He could add it to his rock collection, perhaps. Stuffing it in his jean pocket, he then got up and rejoined the group. He returned a pleasant smile to Marion, who was still scowling at how ignorant his peers were.  
Saffron ran his fingers through a tiny patch of white petalled flowers. “Cardamine californica,” he observed quietly. “Or, milkmaids.” He sighed, a small smile gracing his face. “It’s beautiful.”

Marion whistled, grabbing the attention of the Botanist. “Heads up. We don’t have all day. Get your sorry ass over here so we can find out what’s going on here.”  
Rowan sighed and shook her head. “Sorry, Marion, but I’ve been wondering— since when were you our leader?”  
Marion shot back an intense glare, but the shorter girl didn’t flinch. “It’s because I’m the most competent of you lot,” he stated grandly. “I think I’m the most qualified of us all to be the leader.”  
“I don’t,” mumbled Jasper, fiddling with his rock. “Nobody does.”  
Shocked at how blunt the Jeweler was being, Marion was caught off guard. He wasn’t used to people standing up to him. Usually, he found that after asserting his position as the leader, his groupmates tended to follow him like sheep to a shepherd.

“Look man, I seriously can’t give half a shit about who our leader is,” stammered Blake, still in a state of panic. “Let’s just get outta here, okay?”  
Saffron snapped out of his intense focus on the breathtaking flora of the redwood forest and turned back to the group. “Y-yeah… we really should be going,” he said as he got up. With that, Marion threw his hands up in the air and let out a loud groan.  
“That’s what I’ve been saying this whole time!” he cried out, frustrated with the stupidity of the class.

To silence Marion’s complaints, the students decided to oblige and get going. This was for their own good, anyway. The forest was very grassy, and there were no paved pathways or markers indicating a way to go. This made travel rather difficult. As the students continued walking for what seemed like ages, it seemed to them that there was seemingly no end to the redwood forest.  
Penny, the Seer, had tripped over her cloak numerous times within 10 minutes of their journey, and she refused to take it off when Marion complained. Blake the DJ was still tense, and he really wasn’t feeling the whole forest setting. He jumped at every rustle in the bushes, and cried out when one of his classmates snapped a twig. Nolan and Valerie, on the other hand, were having a hoot at Blake and Penny’s expense. The two troublemakers were, to the rest of the group’s dismay, already becoming close friends.

In the distance, they heard footsteps and murmurings. The Puppeteer stopped the group, placing a finger to his lips to shush them. “What’s going on?” hissed Valerie. “What are we listening for?”  
“Someone’s here,” muttered Marion. Blake’s heart leapt a mile.  
“Fucking Christ!” howled Blake, who had already grabbed Valerie as a shield. “You see, we’re all gonna die here!”  
“Nobody will die!” exclaimed Rowan, who had rushed over to the DJ to comfort him.  
The Lucky Student squealed in surprise and began brushing Blake’s hands off. “Don’t touch me, creep!” Blake cried out and subbed in Rowan as a replacement shield. Rowan accepted her new position as a meat shield, then turned back to the group.  
“Okay, everyone, shh…” she mumbled. Marion looked as if he was about to explode.  
“Woman, who’s the leader here?!” he hissed. “I told these imbeciles to shut up a few seconds ago. I guess you just had to steal my spotlight, huh, lady?”  
“Stop being so immature,” she whispered. “A leader should be a responsible, mature person willing to protect their group at all times.”  
“Unlike you, Marion.” said Jasper.  
Marion looked as if he was about to say something obnoxious again, but he held his tongue.

“Hmm…” Penny mumbled. “I see that… yes! There are indeed other human beings here!” Blake began sobbing, and Rowan’s grip on his shoulder tightened. “N-no! The human beings are good people, fret not!” the Seer cried, in an attempt to reassure him.  
“Good people, you say?” asked Nolan. He snorted. “Sure, let’s listen to what the Seer had to say.”  
“W-wait… so are they good people, or are they not?” asked Saffron tentatively.  
“They might be bad people,” said Marion. “We can’t know for sure, and we can’t depend on the powers of some phony wizard chick.”  
“Phony wizard chick?!” cried Penny. “Well, I’d never! Never in my million years have I—”

“Guys, I found our kidnappers!” exclaimed an unknown, slightly ragged voice from the bushes. Blake nearly jumped out of his own skin.

“SOMEONE GET ME OUTTA HERE!” screamed the DJ, about to leap into the Pathologist’s arms. “I WANNA GO HOME TO MY MOMMY!! I DON’T LIKE THIS PLACE AT ALL!!”

“Geez, Olive!” came another voice, this one high pitched. “Who knew that our kidnappers were such scaredy cats?”  
“I’m gonna beat them for bringin’ us here!” yelled the first voice.  
“No beatings! NO BEATINGS!” shrieked Blake, putting his hands up. “MY BEAUTIFUL HAIR CAN’T HANDLE ANY VIOLENCE!”

A girl with a dark ponytail emerged from the bushes, bandaged fists up and ready to fight. “Hah! There they are!” she yelled, pointing at the group. “So, what’s the plan? All offense? Or a couple people can stay here to defend? Can we tie ‘em to a tree and interrogate ‘em?! Ooh, maybe we could slice their throats…”  
“Hey, if you guys are gonna kill us, can you stone me?” asked Jasper eagerly. “That’d probably be my ideal way to die. It’s ironic, you see.”  
Then, a few more people climbed out from their hiding place. Faced with their “kidnappers”, they wore faces of complete, utter confusion. “Huh?” asked a girl with long, platinum blonde hair. “They don’t look like kidnappers.”  
“Kidnappers can look like anyone,” snarled the girl with the ponytail. “Watch their every movement, they could attack at any second.”  
“Okay, so let’s get some things straight first,” said Rowan, putting her hands up. “We’re not kidnappers, and we don’t know why we’re here either. Where did you wake up?”  
A boy with pale skin almost tripped as he hopped out of the shrubs. “Ow… oh, we woke up in a clearing just a bit away from here.”  
A girl dressed in formal attire stepped forward. “Yes, correct. We don’t have any recollection of how we got here, or where exactly we are.”  
“S-so, uh, we’re all on the same page, then…” muttered Saffron thoughtfully. “We… we also woke up without our memories.”  
“Wait, so what the hell’s going on here?!” asked Blake. “Who are these people?!”  
Rowan placed a finger on her chin. “Sixteen.”  
“What?”  
“That makes sixteen of us. The perfect amount of students in a typical class at RIMI.”  
A girl with red hair buns gasped. “Wait, so… are you guys Super Stellars too?!” When they returned nods, she appeared shocked. “So… we’re all a class? C-Class 43, right?” Another round of nods.

“I never expected to meet my classmates in a situation like this,” a student with short hair mused. “I mean, I was expecting a big freshman orientation ceremony, y’know? With flowers and a fancy stage like the ones in movies.”  
“Yeah, same!” chimed in Penny. “Big lights! Streamers!”  
“A huge spotlight, shining down on us!” exclaimed the platinum blonde girl.  
“A disco ball, and some sweet beats,” said Blake wistfully.  
“And horses, too!” cried Nolan.  
Rowan laughed. “Wow, you sure do love horses, don’t you, Nolan?” she asked sincerely.  
Nolan nodded. “Mhm! Well, I mean, of course I’ve gotta love horses. I’m the Super Stellar Equestrian, don’t ‘cha know?”

The girl with the ponytail sighed. “Aw, darn. I really thought we had found our kidnappers here. I haven’t had a chance to beat someone up in ages, ya know?”  
A girl with ombre hair spoke up. “Wait, if they’re not our kidnappers, then who is?”  
Marion nodded. “Good question.”  
“I think some more introductions are in order!” exclaimed Rowan, beaming. Marion groaned.  
“Can’t we pay more attention to the current situation at hand, first?” he grumbled.  
“Well, in my opinion, it’s important that we at least know each others’ names before we start working as a team.” Rowan turned back to the newly arrived students. “I say we get past this quickly,” she said. “Let’s go in a line— just tell us your name and your talent so we can get this over with.”

“Okay, fine.” The girl with the ponytail finally let her guard down and sighed. “The name’s Olive Fletcher. I’m the Super Stellar Archer,” she stated simply. “I’ve handled bows and arrows since I was a little girl, and I’ve gotta say that I’ve gotten pretty damn good with ‘em. In other words, you want me on your side.”  
“Wait, uh… who said there were sides…?” asked Saffron. “I th-thought we were all working together as a big happy class.”  
“Do any of us look happy to you?” sneered Marion.  
“She does,” replied Saffron, gesturing to the girl with the puffy red hair buns.

“Huh?” the girl asked, snapping out of her daydream. “Um, yeah! I try to stay positive in all situations, because I know for sure there’s always a way out of any despairing situation.” She adjusted the goggles atop her head and stood tall. “I think it’s my turn! Hi! My name’s Poppy Reiss, the Super Stellar Engineer! Pleasure to meet you all! I hope we can all become friends, because I like to have a lot ‘a friends! It gives you that warm, fuzzy feeling on the inside, and—”  
“Yeah, yeah, we get it. I guess I’ll go next,” said the girl with ombre hair. “My name’s Carmen Laughrin. Super Stellar Skier. I’ve been skiing since i was three, and I don’t plan on stoppin’, which is why I’m gonna bust outta this place as soon as I can figure out how to. Next?” Carmen looked at the person next to her, the blonde girl with the fashionable getup.  
“Okay!” she sang. Clearing her throat, she began her introduction. “Well, I’m Jolie L’Amoureux! I’m the Super Stellar Supermodel. I actually love to model, and I’ve been doing it since I was a baby posing for diaper commercials! It’s super fun and easy, but I guess some people just don’t have the physique for it, if you know what I mean. Thankfully, I would consider myself very—”

“Oh Christ, if everybody talks like this I’m going to end up committing suicide,” Marion muttered under his breath. “Okay, everybody better quit yappin’ like that. Just simple name and talent or we’ll never get to the end. Who’s next? You?” He pointed at a fit boy with a sports uniform. “Hey buddy, introduce yourself so we can get this over with.”  
The muscular boy smiled pleasantly. “Sure, yeah. They call me Thomas Gourd, the Super Stellar Lacrosse Player,” he said. “I’m the star player on my city’s local team. I’m also the youngest player, so I guess they noticed me for that, too. Glad to be here.” He gestured to the girl beside him. “Anyway, I think that Miss Maybury’s next. Take it away.”

The girl next to him dressed rather formally, and wore her hair extremely short and over one eye. “Ahem,” she said. “Hello, classmates. I am Anabel Lorrayne Maybury, and I have been scouted as the Super Stellar Attorney by the prestigious RIMI. It is truly an honor to stand amongst the ranks of the Super Stellar students.”  
“An attorney?” asked Nolan. “Huh. Aren’t you a bit too young to be a lawyer, missy?”  
“Some have said that I am,” replied Anabel. “However, I have sufficient knowledge of legal practices, and I have indeed passed the bar exam. I was also the head of the debating club at a boarding school I attended, and have been praised for my intelligence and cognitive abilities by many. So, I believe I am qualified to be a lawyer.”  
“Are you lying?” asked Valerie, much to Anabel’s chagrin. “I mean, I heard somewhere that the youngest person to pass the bar exam was eighteen. And, like, we’re fourteen, aren’t we?” Anabel airily laughed.  
“Oh, I’m not lying— that information is definitely outdated,” she declared. “I began my legal studies at an extremely young age. In fact, I passed the bar exam at the ripe age of thirteen.” She shook her head dismissively. “Heavens, you really need to get your hands on some updated information.”  
“Th-th-thirteen?!” hissed Blake. “This kid became a lawyer at the age of THIRTEEN?!” He shook his head. “Man, thanks for making me feel inadequate, dudette.”  
“You’re welcome.” She ignored Blake’s shocked expression and turned to the tall boy next to her. “It’s your turn now, dearie.”

The boy next to her wore a faded denim jacket and a simple striped shirt. He was extremely pale and slender, and was one of the taller students of the bunch. “Okay.” He turned to the group. “Hi, my name is Elliot Rothberg, the Super Stellar Angler. I live by a long river, and my family owns a boat. So I guess it’s only natural that we go fishing a bunch.”  
“Ooooh! I love fish!” exclaimed Penny. “What’s the biggest one you’ve caught?”  
“Hmm… 12 feet. I don’t remember the specifics, though.” he replied. “Anyway, I’m very glad to be here. Now, I think we’ve only got Tate left, right?” He turned to a shorter child, who was busy watching the leaves swaying above them. When Elliot tapped their shoulder, they nearly jumped several feet. “It's your turn now.” he said.

“Oh, right,” they said, adjusting their round glasses. “So, I’m Tate Koubeton. I’m the Super Stellar Author. As to how I earned the title, uh, I managed to publish several best selling novels by the age of 9. Which is quite impressive, I think.”  
“Tate Koubeton?” clarified Rowan. “The name sounds so familiar… oh! By any chance are you the author of the New York Times bestselling thriller, Lions and Lords?”  
Tate smiled. “Yes, that was my work.” They began fiddling with a strand of their hair. “Uh… did…. did you like it?” they asked shakily.  
“Like it?!” Rowan was in awe. “I loved it! It’s one of my favorite novels, in fact! Well done!”  
Blake scoffed. “Damn, these newcomers are so fuckin’ talented, yo. We’ve got a teenage lawyer, a child author and a famous lacrosse player over here. And here we get, like, a seer.”  
“I’m telling you!” cried Penny. “My psychic abilities are as real as your ability to be a huge deadshit douchebaguette!! Don’t test me!”  
Thomas smiled warmly at her. “Aww, don’t worry kid,” he said, in an attempt to calm her down. “Just ignore him, and you’ll be just fine.”  
Penny shot a glare at him. “Who’re you calling a kid?!” she shrieked, her eyes mad. “I may be little, but that doesn’t mean you’re not gonna feel the wrath of a god if you don’t shut your trap.”  
Thomas backed off, putting his hands up. “Yeesh, I struck a nerve, didn’t I?”  
Nolan nodded. “Mhm. You pissed off the midget. Good job, buddy.” Nolan’s comment only made things worse, and Penny was ready to start swinging. Rowan sighed and headed over to the group to act as a peacemaker.

Marion stepped forward from the chaos. “Anyway, as for us, I’m Marion Spruce, the Puppeteer. The chick stopping the crazy psychic seer chick over there from going psycho’s Rowan, a Pathologist. The crazy psychic seer chick, in question, is Penny. The teal haired pansy’s Blake, a DJ. Flower fairy kid over there is Saffron, our Botanist, and behind that bush is Jasper, the Jeweler. Finally, we’ve got our resident little shit, Nolan the Equestrian, and then there’s Valerie, our Lucky Student. You see how easy it was to introduce everyone in one go?” He let out a sigh. “Finally, I’m glad we’re over with this.”

“Hmm… nope, I really don’t think the introductions are done yet!” came a strange voice. The students, now alert, frantically scanned the area for the source of the unusual voice. The voice didn’t sound human, really. To sum it up, it sounded a lot more like a children’s cartoon character than a regular person. “After all… you haven’t met me yet, haven’t you?”  
Olive had already positioned herself into a fighting stance. “Show yourself!” she yelled.  
The voice rang out again. “Wow, so impatient! Upupu… I promise to show myself if you just head towards that clearing in the distance, okay?” They snickered. “Maybe then, your setting will become a lot more clear.” When the students returned silence, the voice scoffed. “Now hurry up, you cretins! Get your sorry asses over to that clearing so we can get this show on the road already! I’ll see you there!”

The students glanced at each other, sharing looks of worry and confusion. “Should we go?” asked Saffron quietly. “I mean, we’re not sure if we can trust the voice or not, can we?”  
“Yeah, we can’t trust this guy!” chimed in Poppy. “What if they’re our real kidnappers?!”  
“What if… they’re gonna kill us?” asked Nolan innocently, sending Blake into yet another panic.  
“Dear god, please no!” the DJ squealed. “I don’t wanna die young! Let’s just run away or something!”

“I’m afraid you can’t do that,” came the voice again. “Just hurry up and get your butts over here. We know you’ve got nothing better to do.”  
“Penny’s super psychic visions say that we should probably go!” announced Penny. “The person behind the voice will not harm us! They will indeed tell us what is going on, so I say it’s best that we just go for it!”  
Jasper shrugged. “I mean, why not?” he said coolly. “C’mon, let’s go see what’s going on.”

With that, the Seer and the Jeweler began making their way over to the open clearing, which was just barely visible in the distance. Reluctant, the remaining fourteen hesitated. Was it really safe? As the two walked further and further away from the group, several others began rushing forward to catch up with them. Soon, all sixteen were on their way to the clearing, both curious and fearful of what they’d see.

***

When the students finally emerged from the bushes, they were all shocked at the sight that lay before them. In front of the group were sixteen cottages, arranged in a 4x4 array. Surrounding them were more trees and bushes, but within the leaves, one could spot more pathways leading to other locations, as well as several signposts. In the centre of the field was a rather large campfire, with several logs arranged in a two circles surrounding it. Lamp posts were mounted haphazardly about the site. Though it was about sunset and the natural light was fading, the lamps remained off for the time being. The campsite in front of them gave off a welcoming, bucolic atmosphere, but the students still felt unnerve. This definitely wasn’t normal.

The voice rang out yet again. “Please, take a seat on any log you want!” it exclaimed. “Then, once we’re all seated, the freshman orientation ceremony will commence!”  
“Aw, there’s no fancy stage or balloons here,” grumbled Tate.  
Jolie pushed her thick, blonde hair back over her shoulder. “Hm. No spotlights either,” she observed. “What a bore.”  
The two students appeared genuinely disappointed, and to this, Marion scoffed. “Idiots, we’re in a camp. What did you expect?”  
“A full four course meal with dessert and an elegant slow dance, complete with a photobooth.” deadpanned Jasper.  
Blake had latched onto Rowan again. “I don’t wanna be here, yo!” he cried out. “This ain’t right! I wanna know what’s goin’ on!”  
“Settle down, you twat, and maybe I’ll tell you,” said the voice, audibly growing more and more irritated by the minute. Glancing at each other with hesitant looks, the students, one by one, took their seats surrounding the campfire. For a few silent moments, their eyes darted around the campsite, waiting for something to happen.

Suddenly, the campfire grew taller and taller, the embers roaring and crackling as the flames grew. Then, the fire was abruptly extinguished, and smoke erupted from the firewood. The students sitting closer to the fire coughed and turned away, but when they looked back at the pit, a strange creature was standing there. To the students, it appeared to be a strange stuffed teddy bear. Its colours were rather strange— instead of a traditional brown color typically found on most teddy bears, this one was of a monochrome color scheme. Half was a pure white, and the other was a sinister looking black.

“Upupu…! So, you’ve finally arrived!” The bear shook its head disapprovingly. “Took you brats long enough, didn’t it?”  
“C-cut to the chase!” stammered Blake, more sweat forming upon his brow.  
“Impatient, aren’t you?” muttered the bear. “Well, don’t you worry one bit, kiddo! ‘Cuz I’m about to explain it all to you right now!”  
“Then hurry up and get to it already!” cried Poppy.  
“Of course, of course! But first, I think you should all get to know me!” The bear stifled a laugh. “Besides… I’m going to be your new camp counselor for the rest of your natural lives, right?!”  
“Camp counselor…?” repeated Elliot. “I’m sorry, but I’m confused.”  
“I’ll explain things in a second, hold on!” screeched the bear, waving its tiny arms. It sighed, and put a hand to its forehead. “Yeesh! Anyway, for starters, the name’s Monokuma!”

JOLIE: “Monokuma? That’s not a very attractive name, if I do say so myself.”  
MONOKUMA: “Shut up! You dummies keep interrupting me, and it’s getting on my nerves! If you want me to explain what’s going on, do me one and shut it!”  
JASPER: “You don’t seem like a very nice person. Maybe we shouldn’t listen to such a meanie like you.”  
MONOKUMA: “That’s because I’m not a person, dimwit! I’m a bear!”  
JASPER: “Oh, sorry. Then, uh, you don’t sound like a very nice bear.”  
BLAKE: “Oooohh! You just got roasted! Haha!”  
OLIVE: “Joseph takes no hostages!”  
JASPER: “It’s Jasper.”  
OLIVE: “Whoops. Sorry, bud.”  
JASPER: “No, it’s fine. I’ve heard worse.”  
TATE: “Such as?”  
JASPER: “Juniper. Jason. Justin.”  
CARMEN: “Why is the teddy bear talking?! Teddy bears can’t talk!”  
POPPY: “Just relax. It looks to be a robot. Someone must be controlling it, right?”  
MONOKUMA: “I’m not a robot! Nor am I a teddy bear! I’m Monokuma!”  
CARMEN: “Arrrggghhh!!”  
ROWAN: “Be quiet, everyone. I want to know what’s going on.”  
MONOKUMA: “Oh, thanks, tree girl!”  
NOLAN: “Haha, tree girl.”  
MONOKUMA: “Anyway, you heard me right! I’m gonna be your camp counselor!”  
ANABEL: “I never signed up for a camping trip. I don’t have time for this.”  
MONOKUMA: “Oh, hush! You have all the time in the world to go camping! You’ll be staying here for the rest of your natural lives, after all.”  
VALERIE: “Excuse me, repeat that last part?”  
MONOKUMA: “The sixteen of you brats will be imprisoned in these campgrounds for the rest of your lives. It’s a pretty simple concept.”  
ROWAN: “W-wait… what?!”  
BLAKE: “I… you c-can’t be serious, my dude…!”  
POPPY: “He’s just playing a prank on us… right?”  
THOMAS: “I can’t stay here forever! I’ve got a team to get back to!”  
PENNY: “P-Penny didn’t predict this…!”  
ELLIOT: “But what about my grandpa, and our daily fishing trips down the river?”  
MONOKUMA: “Well, sucks to be you! You kids are gonna live here in this camp for the rest of your lives, and there’s nothing you can do about it! Upupu!”  
CARMEN: “Arrgghh!! This is bullcrap! I d-don’t wanna stay here!”  
BLAKE: “Y-yeah, same! I’ll do anything to get out! I don’t wanna be a prisoner for the rest of my life, I’m too cool for this!”  
MONOKUMA: “Oho… anything, you say?”  
THOMAS: “What’re you getting at?”  
MONOKUMA: “Oh, it’s simple, really! There’s only one way to escape this campsite! I must say, it’s a pretty easy way out!”  
OLIVE: “Spill.”  
MONOKUMA: “Upupupu.. there’s only one way to return to society. Are you ready?”  
MARION: “Just tell us already.”  
MONOKUMA: “All you gotta do… is kill one of your peers! See? It’s so easy!”  
BLAKE: “N-no… that’s crazy talk! You’re crazy!”  
MONOKUMA: “Correct! I am, indeed, crazy.”  
SAFFRON: “S-so… any one of us could be murdered at any second…?”  
MONOKUMA: “Yep, that’s right! We’re going full on Battle Royale in this joint! Or maybe the Hunger Games, if that’s your kind of thing.”  
POPPY: “That’s nonsense! We won’t kill each other, we are all friends!”  
MONOKUMA: “Upupupu… are you sure about that, Poppy, dear?”  
POPPY: “Huh? How do you know my name?!”  
MONOKUMA: “What if I were to tell you that there’s a few bad apples hiding amongst you lot?”  
POPPY: “What… what do you mean?”  
MONOKUMA: “Well… one of you kids are lying about your Super Stellar talent! Plus, there’s a mole amongst you! Working for me, making sure the killing game goes smoothly, all that jazz.”  
MARION: “Alright, whoever the liar or mole is, speak up now.”  
NOLAN: “They wouldn’t just reveal themselves, smart one.”  
MARION: “Th-then maybe it’s you!”  
NOLAN: “What? No.”  
JOLIE: “I mean… you can’t deny the possibility, can you, dear?”  
NOLAN: “Wait, guys…!”  
MONOKUMA: “Upupupu!! See?! Friendships are already being torn apart! How despairing!”  
MARION: “When was our status of friendship decided, exactly?”  
NOLAN: “As soon as we got here, best friend!”  
MARION: “Stop it.”  
ANABEL: “Hold on a second, Monokuma.”  
MONOKUMA: “Hmm…?”  
ANABEL: “There are sixteen of us. If half of us kill the other half, that means that eight of us will end up returning to society. Am I correct?”  
MONOKUMA: “No! You are dreadfully, horribly wrong! Did you really think it’d be that easy?!”  
ELLIOT: “I mean, you did say it was going to be easy.”  
MONOKUMA: “Hmph! Well, what I meant was, it’s gonna be real easy, as long as you can cover up your tracks well!”  
TATE: “Wh-what do you mean?”  
THOMAS: “What’d be the point of covering up your tracks?”  
MONOKUMA: “Well, after a murder has occurred, the remaining survivors are tasked with the job of investigating in order to find the identity of the blackened. Then, you’ll all be sent to a super fun camp trial!”  
ANABEL: “A trial, you say? What’ll happen then?”  
MONOKUMA: “Upupupu!! Basically, you kids will work together to debate the identity of the blackened! Then, it’ll be voting time! You’ll get to vote for who you think the culprit is. And if the majority votes correctly for the blackened… the culprit will receive a well deserved punishment to atone for their crimes!”  
VALERIE: “What’s this about a fuckin’ punishment?! What’s the punishment?”  
MONOKUMA: “Eh? Well, I mean, it’ll work just the same way as it does in society! If someone commits an unforgivable crime, they’ll be sentenced to death and executed!”  
SAFFRON: “E-e-execution?!”  
BLAKE: “Rowan, hold me!”  
ROWAN: “Sorry, Blake. I’m busy comforting Jolie.”  
JOLIE: “Sniff… n-now the world’ll never see the beautiful face of Jolie L’Amoureux ever again… what a shame.”  
MONOKUMA: “They will, if you manage to off one of your classmates here.”  
OLIVE: “Shut it with the talk of murder, will you?! Nobody’s killin’ anyone!”  
THOMAS: “How… how can you be so sure of that?”  
OLIVE: “No! No! Stop it, shut up! Nobody’s gonna die!”  
PENNY: “Why… why do we have to do this?!”  
MONOKUMA: “Hmmm…? Because it’s fun, stupid!”  
PENNY: “Penny thinks that it’s pretty damn obvious that killing people is not fun at all! Big ‘ol meanie!”  
CARMEN: “Yeah!! You’re an asshole, Monowhatever!”  
VALERIE: “I h-hate this stupid bear!”  
MONOKUMA: “Why must you attack me with your words…?”  
OLIVE: “Would you rather we use rocks?”  
JASPER: “Wait, sorry to interrupt, but… what happens if we vote incorrectly?”  
MONOKUMA: “Huh? Oh! Then… everyone except for the blackened will be executed! And then, the blackened’ll go free!”  
BLAKE: “Arrrggghhh!! No, no, no, no, no, no, no!! I can’t do this, dude! I’m gonna die here!”  
POPPY: “Don’t worry…! I promise you, we will all find a way out of here together!”  
NOLAN: “This sounds like it’ll be interesting!”  
CARMEN: “Are you insane?! This is completely terrifyin’!”  
NOLAN: “I mean, I guess we all have different perspectives, eh?”  
TATE: “Sorry, but, Monokuma, could you repeat that all for us? From the top?”  
MONOKUMA: “What? No.”  
SAFFRON: “Why?”  
MONOKUMA: “I’m too lazy. Go check it out for yourself. I printed all the rules in your E-Handbooks. Just call if you’re confused about anything and I’ll gladly explain it for you in excruciating detail.”  
ELLIOT: “What are these E-Handbooks you speak of?”  
MONOKUMA: “Oh yeah! Forgot to mention that. Just head over to the cabins and pick up the package with your name printed on it! Inside will be your E-Handbook, which’ll be your best friend in this killing game. Make sure not to lose it or break it, or you’ll face severe punishment!”  
ROWAN: “Killing game…?”  
JASPER: “Severe punishment…”  
MONOKUMA: “Of course! Now, let’s get this show on the road!! Today is the beginning of the Camping Trip Of Mutual Killing! Upupupupu!!”

With that, Monokuma disappeared once again, leaving the students in a state of shock and disbelief. Turning to each other, they were unsure of what lay ahead. An awkward silence hung in the air, and none of them knew what to do next. Some felt nauseous just from the thought of the killing game, while others felt a fighting spirit deep within. Others already felt the despair sinking in, and some held onto their hopes. Then, Jolie spoke up, breaking the silence.

“I… can’t believe this is happening,” she said, getting up from the log. Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she stood a bit taller. “But I believe it’d be best for us to get some rest, hm?”  
“I guess,” muttered Tate. “So, uh, there are sixteen little cabins over there. I’m assuming they’re our living accommodations in this camp.”  
Thomas sighed, placing one hand behind his neck. “Man, I think we should go explore a bit first,” he suggested. He gestured to one of the pathways leading back into the thicket. “Look, there’s some paths. Maybe we should check ‘em out first.”  
“No,” said Rowan boldly. “We can do that in the morning. It’s getting late, and it’ll be dangerous to wander around in the dark.” She sighed. “Especially in a place like this,” she added hesitantly.  
“Yeah, we should get to bed, people.” Blake yawned. “Plus, I wanna check out that E-Handbook the bear mentioned…”  
Elliot smiled at the DJ. “You’ve calmed down,” he observed. “That’s good. I’m glad to see you’re feeling better, especially after… all this.”  
“Nah, I’m mostly in denial about the whole thing, yo.” 

“Hey!” called Nolan from afar. A few students jumped, as they hadn’t realized that the Equestrian had strayed off from the group. “Check this out,” he said, pointing to a large signpost beside one of the paths. “It’s kinda dark and my vision’s kinda weary, but according to this sign, there’s a ‘Deity Mall’ here!”  
Valerie scoffed. “That says ‘Dining Hall’, moron.”  
“A dining hall?” asked Marion. “Hmm… how about we meet there every morning to have breakfast together?”  
Jasper yawned. “Yeah, yeah, sure. Sounds like a plan,” he mumbled. “My only question is, when.”  
“Are we good for eight?” asked Marion. Jasper looked horrified.  
“Waking up at eight? In this generation?” he asked in disbelief. “You can’t expect me to do that.”  
Marion shot a glare at the Jeweler. “Well, you’ll just have to get used to it, rock boy.” he said dismissively. He turned back to the rest of the group. “So, are we good with that?” he asked them. “We’re meeting at eight at the dining hall to discuss a game plan.”  
“A game plan?” echoed Carmen, scratching her head. “Whaddya mean by that?”  
The Puppeteer smirked. “It’s simple,” he replied. He turned on his heel and began to head towards the cabins. “The sixteen of us going to find a way to bust out of here.”

END OF PROLOGUE  
Surviving Students: 16  
Olive Fletcher - Super Stellar Archer  
Blake Marcato - Super Stellar DJ  
Penelope Claire - Super Stellar Seer  
Tate Koubeton - Super Stellar Author  
Jolie L'Amoureux - Super Stellar Supermodel  
Saffron Chenery - Super Stellar Botanist  
Poppy Reiss - Super Stellar Engineer  
Nolan Canter - Super Stellar Equestrian  
Anabel Maybury - Super Stellar Attorney  
Elliot Rothberg - Super Stellar Angler  
Marion Spruce - Super Stellar Puppeteer  
Thomas Gourd - Super Stellar Lacrosse Player  
Valerie Millstein - Super Stellar Lucky Student  
Jasper Bayers - Super Stellar Jeweler  
Carmen Laughrin - Super Stellar Skier  
Rowan Auguste - Super Stellar Pathologist

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At the time of posting this, the story up to half of chapter 2 has been posted on the Tumblr blog. I will be updating this with all the parts written so far soon.


	3. Campsite Rules and Regulations

  1. The students are to live a communal lifestyle within the boundaries of the camp for the rest of their lives.
  2. The time between 10pm to 7am is called Night Time. During this phase, the dining hall and any recreational sites will be closed off.
  3. During Night Time, students may not make contact with the lake water.
  4. Students are only permitted to sleep in the designated cabins. If they are caught sleeping anywhere else, they will be punished.
  5. Students may investigate the campgrounds freely.
  6. Violence against the camp counselor is prohibited.
  7. Destruction of the security cameras are forbidden.
  8. The only way to escape the camp is to commit a murder without being caught.
  9. Once three students discover a dead body, the Body Discovery Announcement will play on the students’ E-Handbooks and over the intercom. The investigation period will then begin. Following the investigation period, the students will participate in a camp trial, in which they will debate the identity of the blackened.
  10. One blackened student may only kill two people. Triple murders or more are not tolerated.
  11. If the blackened is voted for by the majority, they will be executed. There are no exceptions to this rule.
  12. On the other hand, if the majority votes for an innocent student, all but the blackened will be executed, and the blackened student will reenter society.
  13. If a student refuses to vote, they will be executed.
  14. If a student breaks the rules, they will be executed.
  15. The camp counselor may add new rules at any time.




	4. Chapter 1: Naivete and Paranoia (Daily Life I)

The next morning, the students rose from their slumber and performed their morning routines. A few of the previously pampered students found it quite demeaning that they were only provided with a single bottle of no-name brand lotion for their skin care routine. At about eight, the students trudged out of their respective cabins and made their way towards the dining hall.

The dining hall was a large, completely wooden structure placed smack in the middle of the woods. Outside was a small clearing in which several picnic benches were scattered about, as well as several tetherball poles. The building also featured a deck, on which a dusty looking couch and a matching coffee table sat. Inside the structure, a lot more tables than necessary were arranged in a neat array. From the ceiling hung several light fixtures, though they were all off. To the side of the tables was the kitchen, and if one peered in, they’d find a plethora of ingredients and spices. Hanging from the wall were a collection of kitchen knives, as well as other culinary tools. Sitting atop a nearby table were several dishes filled with simple breakfast items, such as bread and pancakes. Valerie, the Lucky Student, and Blake, the DJ, were the first to arrive. Upon seeing the numerous tables and chairs, they decided to push together a few tables to make one large table where the whole group could sit at. When the rest of the class arrived, they drowsily served themselves some breakfast and took their seats at the table.

ROWAN: “I’m glad to see that all fifteen of us have arrived, safe and sound.”  
NOLAN: “Right?! I mean, I was expecting someone to be killed in their sleep!”  
SAFFRON: “D-d-don’t say things like that, Nolan…”  
NOLAN: “What? It’s the harsh reality of this situation! Face the music.”  
POPPY: “Aw, shut it! Some of us are really trying to be hopeful here.”  
NOLAN: “You’re calling it being hopeful, I call it naiveté. Or maybe y’all are just in denial.”  
THOMAS: “Wait, sorry, but… uh, fifteen? I’m, uh, pretty sure we had sixteen yesterday.”  
NOLAN: “Oh, would you look at that! Looks like I was right after all, eh?”  
ROWAN: “Hush. I’m sure that Jasper’s just late.”  
OLIVE: “Man, it’s impressive that you’ve already got everyone’s names down. I mean, we’ve all just met.”  
ROWAN: “What can I say? I’m just good with names, I suppose.”  
OLIVE: “I seriously haven’t matched your faces to your names yet, geez. I’ve gotta work on that.”  
CARMEN: “So, is this group discussion startin’ soon? I’m already on my second plate of pancakes.”  
ELLIOT: “Wow, you eat fast.”  
ROWAN: “Anyway, we should probably find out what’s keeping us here.”  
SAFFRON: “Uh, what do you mean?”  
ROWAN: “That Monokuma said that we’re all trapped in here. My question is, what’s stopping us from leaving? Summer camps like these usually have some path that leads out to the main roads, but if this camp’s special, that might not be the case.”  
ANABEL: “I think we should go find Jasper.”  
CARMEN: “Eh? Didn’t Rowan say that he’s just runnin’ late?”  
ROWAN: “That was only an assumption…”  
NOLAN: “He was killed in his sleep!”  
BLAKE: “D-dude! Stop it!”  
TATE: “No, it’s impossible that he was killed in his sleep.”  
NOLAN: “Alright, bud, tell me. Why isn’t it a possibility?”  
TATE: “The cabins can be locked. We were provided with keys on our dressers. This means that nobody can simply bust open a door and kill someone in their sleep.”  
BLAKE: “W-w-wait… are you tellin’ me… we got keys?!”  
JOLIE: “Dear, are you meaning to say that you didn’t lock your cabin last night?”  
BLAKE: “N-no…”  
NOLAN: “Haha, oh man! Guys, you could’ve gotten a free kill last night!”  
BLAKE: “That’s not funny, yo…”  
THOMAS: “Anyway, now that we’ve decided that he’s not dead, where is he?”  
ELLIOT: “He probably slept in. Can someone go check up on him?”  
TATE: “No… it’s not possible. His cabin must be locked…”  
NOLAN: “Unless he’s just stupid and forgot to lock his door last night, like Blake.”  
BLAKE: “Hey, dude… that was uncalled for.”  
MARION: “Alright, let’s start with Rowan’s question. How are we being imprisoned here? Any ideas?”  
VALERIE: “Maybe Monokuma built a giant wall around the premises of the camp?”  
OLIVE: “Nah, we would’ve seen that by now.”  
ELLIOT: “Then maybe the camp’s just in a remote location too far away from society.”  
SAFFRON: “Ehh…”  
BLAKE: “Look, guys, I’m startin’ to come to terms with our lifelong imprisonment here.”  
ROWAN: “Talk about a personality change. Just yesterday, you almost leaped in my arms at the sight of Olive.”  
BLAKE: “Well, dudette, that’s mostly because I was unsure of where we were. I’d rather not be stranded in the wilderness, y’know? I’m feelin’ a lot better now that I know we’re in a camp.”  
THOMAS: “We’re trapped in a Hunger Games-esque scenario.”  
BLAKE: “In a summer camp! Let’s look at the big picture here. Sixteen, talented teenagers. No more responsibilities, no more exams, no more adults telling us what to do! We’ve got free will, yo.”  
SAFFRON: “I m-mean… I guess that’s true…”  
BLAKE: “So, let’s just have a positive outlook on the situation, ‘aight?”  
VALERIE: “But what if one of us ends up dead soon?”  
BLAKE: “W-well…! I d-don’t see why anyone here’d consider Monokuma’s suggestion, right? What could possibly top all this free time in this summer camp?!”  
ANABEL: “My career as a lawyer, perhaps?”  
BLAKE: “Hey, hey. Are you sayin’ you’re gonna kill someone?”  
ANABEL: “Oh, heavens no, of course not. Frankly, I’m just very worried about my career.”

The doors abruptly swung open, catching the attention of the group. To everyone’s relief, Jasper had arrived safely.

JASPER: “Hey guys. What’d I miss?”  
MARION: “Nothing much. Blake’s just been spewing some shit about positivity, that’s all.”  
BLAKE: “We should all stay positive! Let’s have a great time living in this camp, everyone!”  
JASPER: “Oh, so someone’s already gone insane? That was quick.”  
ROWAN: “Nobody’s gone insane, Blake’s just trying to stay… positive. Now, let’s focus on what’s surrounding us. We should send some people to the edge of the camp to inspect what’s trapping us here.”  
ELLIOT: “I think we should all head out to explore the entire camp.”  
SAFFRON: “Um… hey, Jasper. You want some cereal? I saved a bowl for you.”  
JASPER: “Hm? Oh, thanks.”  
ROWAN: “Yes, sure. We should split up into groups, too. I don’t want anyone walking alone.”  
CARMEN: “Groups?! Ugh…”  
JASPER: “Sure, sure. Wait for me, though. I’m still eating breakfast.”  
MARION: “Well, that’s your fault for getting here late. Hurry up, slowpoke.”  
JASPER: “I just wanna eat my Froot Loops in peace.”  
ROWAN: “Okay, grab a partner or two. Make sure everyone knows who you’re with. Don’t separate from your groups.”  
CARMEN: “Can I go alone? I don’t wanna be dragged behind by any of you guys.”  
SAFFRON: “N-no… I think we should stay in groups.”  
POPPY: “Yeah, it’s dangerous to go alone. If you want, you can come with Thomas and I.”  
CARMEN: “Ugh, if I must…”  
OLIVE: “Alright, Tate! You’re with me!”  
TATE: “Sure.”  
NOLAN: “Can I come with you too?”  
OLIVE: “Hm, okay. Someone’s gotta look after you anyway, right?”  
NOLAN: “Yes, please! Look after me! I need a big, strong girl like you who can fight off any wolves or bears we come across!”  
OLIVE: “I’d leave you to the wolves for a single corn chip.”  
SAFFRON: “S-sorry to interrupt, but… uh, besides the plants, I haven’t seen a single other living organism in this camp.”  
POPPY: “Really? Not even mosquitoes?!”  
SAFFRON: “It’s weird, huh?”  
VALERIE: “Hey, Blake! You seem pretty cool.”  
BLAKE: “W-w-what?! Uh, thanks…?”  
VALERIE: “You should be in my group! I’ve already got Jolie with me.”  
BLAKE: “Alright, sounds cool!”  
ROWAN: “Anabel, would you like to be in my group?”  
ANABEL: “Hm? Oh, I’m already with Penelope and Elliot over here. Apologies.”  
ROWAN: “Oh, it’s fine. I’ll find someone.”  
JASPER: “Saffy, come with me.”  
SAFFRON: “Um… are you talking to me?”  
JASPER: “Yeah, I like you the best out of my remaining choices. Plus, you got me breakfast. I’m leaving Rowan to work with Marion. I don’t think anyone else wants to be around him.”  
ROWAN: “Hm, I suppose I could monitor him.”  
MARION: “What do you mean by that, huh? Are you saying that I’m not pleasant to be around?”  
JASPER: “Nobody likes you, Marion.”  
MARION: “No, that’s a lie. Everyone loves me!”  
PENNY: “You’re a bit of a meanie-weenie.”  
BLAKE: “Yeah, sorry dude.”  
VALERIE: “Marion, you’re an ass.”  
ROWAN: “I’d hate to admit it, but Valerie’s right.”  
JASPER: “The reviews are in.”  
MARION: “H-hey! What happened?! I’m your leader, you’re supposed to respect me!”  
TATE: “Uh, since when did we have a leader?”  
MARION: “Ever since we got here, dumbass. I’m the most qualified to be the leader, so I’m gonna lead you sorry lot to victory.”  
ELLIOT: “I think Rowan’s pretty qualified to be our leader, actually.”  
ROWAN: “Huh? Aw, thank you, Elliot. Now, if you’re done with that plate, please give it to me so I can start washing the dishes later.”  
ELLIOT: “Of course, here you go.”  
POPPY: “Hey… I have a question about meals.”  
OLIVE: “Hm?”  
POPPY: “What if our food supply runs stale? We’ll all die of starvation…”  
BLAKE: “Ah, shit. I didn’t think of that…”  
MONOKUMA: “Not to worry!”  
CARMEN: “Arrrggghhh!! The evil bear’s back!”  
MONOKUMA: “Relax, kiddo! I’m not here to hurt you. I’m just here to tell you all about meals!”  
OLIVE: “Alright…”  
MONOKUMA: “Just for today, I’ll be a good camp counselor and cook all your meals for you! But after that, it’s all up to you! Upupu… it’s a shame that one of you couldn’t be a Super Stellar Cook, hm?”  
ROWAN: “No worries. I could cook for you all.”  
NOLAN: “Aww, thanks, mom.”  
POPPY: “What about my question? What happens if our food supply runs dry?”  
MONOKUMA: “Eh? That’ll never happen. I restock the kitchens daily. That’s why the dining hall’s closed at night! Now, I’ll be off! Good luck on your little investigation!”

With that, Monokuma skipped out the doors.

OLIVE: “Okay, enough with the food. Let’s go find some huge monsters!”  
JASPER: “I’m still eating…!”  
OLIVE: “Stuff that toast down your throat in one go, you coward. It’s go time.”  
SAFFRON: “Wait… did you say… huge m-monsters?!”  
TATE: “Oh come on, she’s just trying to scare you. Now, who knows any camp songs we can sing along the way?”  
OLIVE: “I know a ton of camp songs! Everybody, repeat after me! THERE WAS A GREAT BIG MOOSE—”  
MARION: “Enough. I didn’t come here to listen to a bunch of kiddies hollering kiddie songs with their kiddie voices. Whoever’s in my group, let’s go. I’ve had enough of this foolish display.”  
SAFFRON: “Um, how many groups are there?”  
JOLIE: “I believe there are six. We have Carmen, Thomas and Poppy, then there’s Tate, Olive and Nolan. I’m with Blake and Valerie. Then, we have Anabel, Penny and Elliot. Then Marion’s apparently stuck with Rowan, and as for you, Saffron, you’re with Jasper.”  
MARION: “Okay, each of you will find a building to search. Once you have searched a building, leave the doors open so anyone who comes across it will know it’s already been searched.”  
THOMAS: “What happens if we can’t find a building?”  
MARION: “Then, you should find some other landmark to search. Anything that looks interesting, I guess. Mark the area in some way so others will know that it’s been searched.”  
ROWAN: “So, are we good?”

A round of nods went around the room, and Rowan smiled, content.

ROWAN: “Good. Now, Marion, let’s go, shall we?”  
MARION: “Ugh, I forgot I was with the tree girl. Why do I have to be with her?”  
ROWAN: “Stop your whining, let’s go.” 

Rowan and Marion stacked their plates and promptly left the dining hall. One by one, the rest of the students finished their breakfast and headed out the door. Saffron lingered in the dining hall for a bit longer, waiting for Jasper to finish off the sandwich he’d created for himself. Jasper took his sweet time nibbling on the bread and jam, and luckily for him, Saffron was a very patient person. If, say, Marion or Carmen had been his partner, he’d be in trouble. Once he was done, he put away the plates and bounded out the door with the Botanist.

***

The bells above the door frame jingled as Tate tentatively pushed the creaky doors open. Tate, Olive and Nolan were quite lucky, as they had stumbled upon a building just minutes after leaving the dining hall. The camp store was a rather small, wooden building just a while away from the dining hall. Outside, a few potted plants hung near the doorway, but they appeared to have wilted. They clearly have not been watered for a while, as the roof over the deck shielded them from the rainfall. A large sign that said CAMP STORE in sloppy paint had been carelessly nailed on the roof, and the way it hung scared the group— it looked as if it could fall at any moment.

Nolan stepped into the shop and feasted his eyes on the candy display. “Oh my god!” Smiling brightly like a small child, he skipped over to the display and grabbed a packet of gummy Monokumas off the rack. Ripping it open, he grabbed a handful of them and stuffed it into his mouth. “Thish ish the besht shting to habe eber habbened to me,” he said, his mouth stuffed with the candy bears. 

Olive took one look at the Equestrian, sighed, then promptly decided to try to ignore him for the rest of their exploration. “We’ve got some souvenirs over here,” she observed. “Water bottles, t-shirts, caps, you name it.”  
Tate scoffed. “But who’d ever want souvenirs from this place?” they asked. Olive replied with a shrug.  
Nolan finished his second bag of gummy bears, then tossed the wrappers in a nearby bin. He peered around at the store’s inventory, and his eyes met with a poorly made snow globe. Inside was a badly sculpted figure of a pink bunny. He picked it up, and turned it over. Seeing a tiny crank on its bottom, he began turning it. When he let go, an upbeat music box melody played out. Squinting at the label, he found that the song was called ‘Beautiful Ruin, Summer Salt’. He made a mental note to search up the song when he got out of this place.  
That is, if he got out alive.  
He remained in place for a while, startled at the grim thought that crossed his mind. Sighing, he shook his head and placed the snow globe back on the shelf. “So, you guys find anything cool?” he called out. “Because all I’ve found is this dumb music box.”  
The Author poked their head above the shelves, and found themself staring straight at the Equestrian. “I found some notebooks and paper,” they reported. “Index cards, too. In case any of you want to keep your minds in tip-top shape while we’re trapped in here, we’ve got study materials.”  
Olive groaned. “Who’d even want to study in a place like this?” she asked. She picked up a book from the shelves and began examining it. “I mean, maybe that Anabel girl would, but…”  
Tate headed over to where Olive was standing. “Ah, I see they’ve got a few books on the camp’s wildlife,” they remarked. They craned their head to take a peek at the book’s cover. “Oh, plants? You should show that to Saffron. Maybe he’s got a thing or two to say about it.”  
The two began a conversation regarding the wildlife of the camp while Nolan looked on. He shook his head and continued to examine the store’s wares. Along with the souvenirs Olive had found, he discovered that the store also sold small bottles of lotion, packets of hair ties and cheap-looking brushes and combs. There were also an abundance of water bottles and energy drinks in a variety of flavors. In a corner of the store stood a pile of firewood, as well as a few matches to light the fire. He also found that the store boasted an impressive amount of s'mores kits. He beamed, grabbing one off the shelves and skipping over to the book aisle.  
“Lo-o-o-ok what I found~!” he exclaimed, shoving the box between the Author and the Archer. They seemed taken aback at first, but Olive’s expression quickly changed to one of elation.  
“Holy crap, is that a s’mores kit?!” she asked gleefully, ripping the box from the Equestrian’s hands. “Man, this is great! We’ve gotta do a campfire at some point.” She read over the contents of the box, then gave it back to Nolan. “Mhm, this thing’s got everythin’ we’ll need. Marshmallows, graham crackers, chocolate… this is all you need to have a great time.”  
Tate smiled politely at the taller students. “I’m not much for sweets, but I guess that’s be fun,” they said. “So, uh, when are you thinking of doing this?”  
“How about tonight?!” proposed Nolan. The boy appeared unable to control his excitement for a campfire night. Just thinking about the delicious s’mores got him even more excited. He brought his hands up to his face, beaming. “We should do it tonight!”  
“Hm, maybe not tonight,” said Tate, shutting down the Equestrian. “I think we should all get to know each other a bit more. Maybe in a few days?” The Archer nodded.  
“Yeah, yeah, sure. That works. We can tell ‘em at lunch,” said Olive. She grinned. “Man, I’m actually so excited for this thing. You think Marion’ll let me sing my camp songs this time?”  
“God, I hope so,” said Nolan. “I liked that one about the great big moose. But, uh, mind if I offer a bit of constructive criticism?”  
“Hm? Sure.”  
“I think it’d be, like, ten times better if we were to sing about a great big horse. It’s scientifically proven that horses just generally make everything ten times better.”  
Olive ignored him. “Anyway, we should get back to searchin’ the store. I don’t want Marion gettin’ on our case for slackin’ off instead of investigatin’.” The Author, Equestrian and Archer then returned to their search of the store.

***

“Ugh, dammit, I—” Jasper tripped on yet another bush. “Ugh.” He groaned and tried to get himself up, dusting off his pants. Saffron, on the other hand, effortlessly skipped his way through the shrubs and extended a hand to the Jeweler.  
“Uh… are you okay…?” asked Saffron quietly. “T-this was the fourth time now, r-right?” Jasper took his hand, grunting, then stood up. Saffron looked to the side sheepishly. “I’m sorry… I should’ve suggested we go the other way— the clearer path, I m-mean. This is my fault,” murmured the Botanist. Before Jasper had time to respond, Saffron spoke again. “L-let’s go now.”  
Hurriedly, he continued making his way through the shrubs and bushes. Jasper followed suit, but continued to have trouble with the abundance of spiky bushes and shrubs scattered about the woods. “So, do you know where we’re going, exactly?” asked Jasper, leaping over a bush.  
Saffron hesitated. “N-no…” he admitted. “I mean, I thought we’d find something if we were to keep walking, but.... It’s been ten minutes now and we haven’t stumbled across anything…”  
“Wait, shh.”  
Saffron turned to look at the shorter boy. “W-what? Did you find someth—”  
“Shh.”

The two stood there silently for a moment, listening for any unusual sounds. Then just faintly, they could hear the sounds of water. Saffron’s eyes widened. “There’s water…” he mumbled. “Are… are we near a lake of sorts?”  
“I’d think so. Let’s go look.”

Pushing through the thicket, the Botanist and Jeweler bounded towards the strange sound. Soon enough, the sounds of water grew louder and louder. Finally, the forest came to an end, and the two boys found themselves faced with a shoreline. In awe of the sight in front of them, they stopped to take it in. The morning sunlight glistened on the waves, making it appear that the water sparkled. Many small rocks were scattered about the dirt. Jasper spotted a few particular ones that’d be perfect for skipping across the lake. There was also a wooden dock, on which a fishing rod lay abandoned. To the side of the shoreline was a rustic fishing shed.  
“It’s beautiful,” breathed Saffron. His eyes landed on the abandoned fishing rod. “O-oh..! We should call Elliot over here, he’d have a blast…”  
Jasper headed towards the dock and examined the rod. “Hmm, I dunno about that,” he muttered. He picked it up and found that the rod was in bad condition. “This thing looks busted. Hopefully they’ve got better rods somewhere.” He decided to put it back where he found it, not wanting to touch the dirty rod any longer.  
“Hey, I’m a bit tired from the walk,” said Saffron. He sat down by the shore, staring out into the waves. “I think I’ll rest for a while.”  
Jasper shrugged. “Yeah, okay. You rest your legs, I’ll go check out the shed.”

The shed had double doors and seemed rather big. Jasper pushed against the door with all his might, but his efforts were fruitless. The doors wouldn’t open. “It’s stuck,” he called out, but Saffron didn’t reply. He sighed, giving the door one last kick.  
“Oi! Are you trying to get into the shed?!”  
Jasper jumped at the loud voice and turned to see Monokuma leaning against the shed. His eyes narrowed. “Yes,” he replied hesitantly. “Why?”  
“Well, I’ll have you know that that door’s broken!”  
“Broken?”  
Saffron turned. “What’s going on over there…?” he asked. His heart leaped when he saw the bear. The Botanist quickly headed over to the shed to see what was going on.  
Monokuma smirked. “Yeah, it’s kinda broken!” He paused. “Well, actually, it’s stuck real good.”  
“What do you mean, stuck?”  
“I mean it’s jammed, and it’s tough to open! This thing’s real old, it won’t open easily anymore!”  
“S-so we can’t get in…?”  
Monokuma looked up at them. “I never said that. You could probably get in if the two of you were to push really hard, but I don’t think any of you goons could get in by yourselves. I mean, you’re both so weak!”  
Jasper raised an eyebrow. “What do you want from us?”  
“Nothing, nothing! Yeesh! Just wanted to give you some helpful information about the shed! Toodles!” With that, Monokuma bounded back into the thicket.

Saffron turned to the other boy. “So… uh, should we push together?”  
“I guess so.”  
The two placed their hands on the wooden door. “On the count of three,” mumbled Jasper. “One, two, three…!”  
With all their might, the two boys pushed one of the doors open. “God, that’s inconvenient,” muttered Jasper. Looking around, he found a door stopper left nearby. He grabbed it and shoved it underneath the door. “There,” he panted. “Now, anyone’ll be able to get inside.” He turned back to the Botanist. “If you’re tired, you can go rest over there. I’ll check out the shed.” Saffron shifted in his place.  
“U-um… if it’s okay, I’d like to help,” he mumbled, pressing his fingers together. Jasper smiled at him.  
“Oh, of course you can help. C’mon, let’s check this place out.”  
The place was very shabby and messy. A lot of the equipment was thrown about on the ground and spiderwebs hung from the ceiling. Many of the shelves were broken, and the ones that weren’t seemed like they’d snap at any moment. Jasper headed over to one of the fishing kits on the ground and opened it up out of curiosity. Inside were several fake worms, many of them in bright, glittering colors. Several other types of bait lay organized in the kit. It took some strength to pick it up— the kit was surprisingly heavy. He turned to examine the walls, on which several fishing rods hung. Thankfully, the rods in the shed were in much better condition than the one on the dock outside. Lying nearby on the floor were a couple of inner tubes and a rope. Jasper winced at the rope. That certainly could serve as a dangerous weapon in a game like this. The Jeweler slowly picked up the rope and hid it in a cooler near the back of the shed. He found it surprising that he was so paranoid. Jasper took one last look at the rope, then turned to find that Saffron had already left.  
The Jeweler exited the shed and saw that his companion was standing back by the shore. He watched as Saffron picked up a round rock and threw it against the lake with all his might. The rock hit the water with a dull ‘plunk’ and immediately sank. Saffron let out a small huff of frustration and tried again, this time with a flat stone. He threw it, and appeared proud when it managed to hop twice across the water before sinking. Jasper smirked at the attempt at skipping stones and approached him. “What’s up?” he said, startling the Botanist.  
Saffron turned. “Ah, I’m… I’m trying to skip rocks.”  
Jasper bent over to pick up a flat one. “How’s that working out for you?” he asked.  
“Not very well.” Saffron shoved his hand in his pocket and took out another rock, this one jagged and large. Jasper’s eyes narrowed at the rock, and he reached over to stop Saffron before he threw it.  
“Hold on, hold on. There’s a strategy to this, you know?”  
Saffron cocked his head to the side. “What do you mean?”  
Jasper held up the rock he had picked up— light, flat and small. “You’ve gotta choose the right rock for the best results.” He moved his fingers over the smooth surface of the stone as he spoke. “The best ones are flat so they can easily skip across the flat surface of the lake. See, when you used a flat one, you managed to get it to skip a couple of times.”  
Saffron discarded the jagged rock. “Oh, that makes sense…”  
“Then,” continued Jasper, “you throw it, like this.” The Jeweler swiftly tossed the stone at a perfect angle at the lake, and it bounced on the surface eight times before it sank. Saffron gasped in awe.  
“You’re so good at this,” he sighed. His eyes searched the ground for the perfect rock, and he picked one up that looked similar to Jasper’s. Looking to the blond boy for approval, Saffron smiled when Jasper gave him a thumbs up. He shuffled over to the edge of the shore and threw the rock, trying to imitate Jasper’s throw. When the stone skipped five times, a smile grew on his face. “I did it!” he cried, turning to the Jeweler. “That’s… that’s the most I’ve ever gotten.”  
Jasper returned the smile. “Good job.” His gaze wandered towards the horizon. The great blue lake stretched out for seemingly forever— it was a gorgeous sight indeed. But very faintly in the distance, Jasper could see what appeared to be… land. Furrowing his brow, he nudged Saffron. “Hey, what’s that?”  
“Hm?” Saffron followed Jasper’s gaze. “Is… is that land?”  
“Seems like it.”  
The Botanist gasped and turned to his companion, a hopeful look upon his face. “D-do you think it’s the mainland? I mean, uh, if we were to build a boat, we’d be able to get over there and escape, right?”  
“Yeah, I’d suppose so.” Jasper continued to peer into the distance. “I wonder if that island’s accessible in any way.” Then, the Jeweler turned on his heel and began his walk back. “C’mon, we should hurry and tell the others about this, it could be very important.”

 

***  
“Ouch! I hate this place,” grumbled Valerie as yet another thorn stabbed her in the ankle. “I swear to God, we’ve been wandering around in fucking circles. This is not good for my complexion!”  
“Oh come on Val, it’s not that bad.” Jolie squinted her eyes and peered into the distance, but all that awaited her was unnaturally bright blue sky. The Lucky Student shot her a nasty glare and nearly tripped over a large tree root, taking her a few steps backwards.  
“Maybe for you. I bet you’ve never had to struggle much, being a fancy model and shit,” Valerie rolled her eyes and smirked when she saw the Supermodel's face turning bright red. Jolie was trying to think of a snappy response when she gasped.  
Several large greyish poles came into view all of a sudden. The trees separated into a clearing with fake grass and a long yet thin and short net marking the halfway point of the clearing. There were fresh, yellow tennis balls scattered off to the side of the court accompanied with rackets. Off to the other side was an old shed with a roof that seemed very close to caving in, and a dusty door with cobwebs near the hinges. Blake gestured towards the shed unexcitedly.  
“I guess we have to investigate that old thing too.” The DJ sighed. He pushed open the rickety door with ease, but nothing remotely interesting laid beyond that either. There were several shelves filled with more tennis balls, spare overgrip, tennis strings, towels and, of course, rackets. Valerie coughed from all the dust surrounding them.  
“I knew this was a waste of time. There’s nothing here aside from boring tennis shit. Whatever, let’s just go back.” Jolie rolled her eyes when Valerie turned away, but secretly agreed with her. And so, the trio marched back into the forest to join the others.

***

Carmen pushed aside the leaves and branches as she scoured the thicket for anything of interest. It had roughly been 5 minutes since they had departed from the dining hall and they still haven’t found anything, save for the seemingly endless redwood forest. The Skier turned around only to find that Thomas and Poppy were far behind her, the former giving the latter a piggyback ride.  
“Hurry up, slowpokes,” she called from over her shoulder. “We don’t have all day.”  
“We kinda do!” called back Poppy, much to Carmen’s frustration. “There’s no rush, really!” The Skier rubbed against her temples as she groaned and kept walking.  
“We don’t want to keep the others waiting,” said Carmen, wiping a bead of sweat off her forehead. “Lord, it’s so hot here.” She took off her thick jacket and tied it around her waist. “How do you people survive?!”  
“Whaddya mean?” asked Thomas, jogging up to the Skier. “It’s not hot at all. It’s actually quite nice out today.” Carmen turned to him with wide eyes.  
“What, are you joking?” she asked incredulously. “It’s so fucking hot here, I feel like I’m gonna be roasted alive.”  
“Lighten up a bit, Carmen!” exclaimed Poppy. “I’m sure everything will turn out just fine.”  
“No, it won’t. It really won’t.”  
Poppy laughed. “Be a bit more positive, will you?” The Skier turned back to glare at the Engineer, who was still riding on Thomas’s back. Carmen sighed.  
“No, everything’s not gonna be just fine. Someone’s gonna die soon, and I’m prayin’ that it’s not me.”  
Thomas scoffed. “C’mon, Carmen. You’re a strong, fit girl. You’re not in danger, because nobody’s gonna go for you. You’re too intimidating.” He glanced around quickly to see if anyone was listening in on their conversation. “Besides,” he added quietly, “if there’s anyone with a target on their back, it’s gotta be, uh, Penny or Saffron.”  
Carmen turned to the Lacrosse Player, narrowing her eyes. “Why’s that?”  
He shrugged. “Penny’s literally, what, 4’10”? She’s weak and frail, and from what I know about her, she’s too naive. And Saffron’s frail too, the kid doesn’t know how to stand up for himself. That Elliot boy too, he’s far too weak for a game like th—”  
Poppy, fast as a bullet, smacked the Lacrosse Player on the face as hard as she could. She dropped down from his back and shot a glare at him. “How dare you!” she cried, wagging a finger at him. “Nobody’s going to die here, and… and…” She huffed, and folded her arms. “How… dare you say things about our classmates like that.” Thomas only stared at her, his hand pressed against his face to suppress the pain.  
“It’s… it’s true though,” he muttered. “It’s survival of the fittest here.” Poppy looked as if she was going to be sick. She wanted to argue further, but she just let out a groan and turned away from the Lacrosse Player. Carmen watched the scene unfold before her, before sighing and returning back to her search.  
An awkward silence hung in the air as the trio kept looking around for anything of interest. Leaves, trees, bushes, more trees, was that a bug? No, just a trick of the light. Carmen broke the silence. “So, Saffron was saying something earlier about how there were no living things in this camp?”  
“The kid’s wrong,” said Thomas, gesturing to the flora. “This place is full of trees.”  
Carmen shook her head. “No, like, besides the plants.” Poppy nodded, placing her gloved hand on her chin.  
“Yeah! He even said there weren’t any mosquitoes here, which is super weird, considering we’re in a camp. But on the bright side, I guess that means we won’t all suffer from mosquito bites! Hooray!”  
Carmen ignored the Engineer, peering into the distance. “Wait, is that… a cabin?” she asked. Sure enough, just barely peeking out from the leaves was a small cabin. The trio turned to each other, then took off towards the cabin.

The cabin, like every other building in the camp, was wooden and somewhat broken down. This one featured a higher up deck, as well as some dead plants hanging off the railings. Above the doorway was a sign with the words MEDICAL CABIN written on it. On the side of the cabin was a mural, the paint somewhat scratched off. The mural depicted a poorly painted doctor taking care of a child with freakishly large eyes. Surely, the one who painted this piece was not a Super Stellar Artist. The three approached the cabin with caution, Carmen in the lead. She crept up the stairs and slowly pushed the creaking door open. The lights in the room were all off, but the natural light illuminated part of the room. The Skier began to feel around for a lightswitch, while the Engineer and Lacrosse Player filed in behind her. Poppy squinted in an attempt to make out the shapes around the room. “This is a medical cabin, right?”  
Then Carmen found the lightswitch, and Poppy blinked as her eyes adjusted to the bright light. The room featured several beds for patients, each with striped covers and a fluffy pillow. Between each bed were some simple tables, each with a flower pot on top. Surrounding each bed were several machines and wires. Nearby was a cabinet filled with bottles of strange liquids and pills, as well as a plethora of bandages. It also featured syringes and bottles of hand sanitizer. Thomas popped open the cabinet door and began to closely inspect the medicine bottles. He picked one up and squinted at the label. His eyes narrowed as he read that the contents of the bottle were apparently very lethal, and that it could kill a man within seconds.  
Carmen turned to the group. “I have no idea what the hell any of this is,” she muttered, returning a syringe to the drawer where it came from. “Maybe Rowan does, but I’ve got no clue about this place.”  
Poppy got up from the bed she was resting at. “Mhm, yeah… maybe we could get Rowan over here later to explain this all to us.” Carmen sighed.  
“Yeah, I guess. Let’s go back now.”  
As the three exited the cabin, they took a doorstopper and left the door open to indicate that they’ve been there. Then, very faintly in the distance, they heard a series of ear-piercing screams, as well as what sounded like an earthquake.  
“What was that? Is someone in danger?!” squealed Poppy. Thomas shook his head and took off towards the forest.  
“Hey, where the hell do you think you’re going?!” called Carmen. “We’re supposed to be heading back to the dining hall! You’ll get lost again!”  
“I’m going to see what’s going on!” called Thomas. “Someone’s probably in danger, I’ve gotta go save them!”

***

“I still don’t get why I’ve gotta be paired up with you,” scowled Marion, pushing aside a stray branch that ended up on the main trail. “Everyone else in our ragtag group got to pick who they wanted to be with, but me? No, I get to be with… tree girl.”  
Rowan frowned and kept walking. “Stop complaining,” she said simply. “And let’s keep moving. We’re bound to find some building soon enough.”  
To this, Marion laughed. “A building?” he asked incredulously. “Rowan, we’ve passed the medical cabin, the lake shed, a tennis court, and the camp store. They’ve all been searched. I say we just turn back now, because there’s no point in going further.”  
Rowan grabbed his arm as he turned to head back, and he turned around to face her with a glare. “What?” he snarled, pulling his arm in an attempt to get free. “There’s no damn use, let’s go back.”  
“Stop being so negative and just look in front of us,” she hissed, pointing ahead. When he looked ahead, he saw what she had found. The Pathologist’s iron grip on his arm was released as he looked forward with curiosity.  
“Water?” he asked. “What about it? We’ve already been to the lake.” Rowan took his arm again and pulled him forward.  
“No, there’s something else,” she said, walking forward. “Something big on the water.” The Puppeteer sighed and let her lead him forward.  
“Fine, fine. This better be good, though.”

When the two emerged from the bushes, they were shocked at what lay in front of them. Stretching across the water was a long bridge. However, the entrance to the bridge was blocked off by a large wooden gate. There didn’t seem to be a way to cross the bridge, so the Puppeteer and Pathologist were left confused as to the bridge’s purpose and how it would open.  
Marion was the first to speak. “What the fresh hell is this?” he asked, gesturing wildly to the bridge. “A bridge?! Where does it lead? How do we get it open?”  
Rowan placed a hand on her chin. “I’d guess that this is a bridge leading to the mainland,” she mumbled. Then, she gestured to what appeared to be outlines of land in the distance. “Look,” she said. “It leads to some land of sorts. I have no idea how to get it open, though.”  
“If you wanted, I could tell you how to get it open!”  
Jumping at the sudden new voice, the Pathologist spun around to find Monokuma standing there. “Then tell us,” she hissed. “How do we get this bridge open?”  
The bear cackled. “It’s a reward!” he sing-songed.  
“A reward for what, you dumb be—”  
“Let me speak! It’s a reward for clearing a camp trial!”  
Rowan pointed an accusing finger at the bear. “Clearing a camp trial?!” she growled, her voice seething with anger. “A reward?! If we survive a camp trial, that means we’ll lose two of our friends.”  
Monokuma shrugged. “Or three, maybe. I mean, I don’t think any of you kids are brave enough to start this thing off with a double murder, but we’ll see, right?”  
“Shut up! Just shut up! Nobody’s dying here!”  
“Upupu, we’ll see about that!” Suddenly, Monokuma’s eyes shot open. “What?! What is this feeling? I feel like… someone is tampering with my personal lair! I must go! Ta-ta!” And with that, Monokuma disappeared back into the forest.  
Marion’s eyes narrowed. “Personal lair…?” he repeated. “What does he mean?”  
Rowan only sighed. “Whatever, it… it doesn’t matter. Let’s go back now, they’re probably all waiting for us.”

***

“There! Look! Penny has found a building that has not been investigated yet!” The Seer clasped her hands together. “Hm, hm… I can tell that there will be many interesting things to be found in this strange cabin!” she exclaimed. She pointed a finger towards the cabin. “Onwards! For we shall witness great things inside this cabin! Magical things, mystical things! Great things of great oddity and great mystery!”  
“We’ll see about that,” muttered Elliot. “This is a run-down murder camp, how great could this be?”  
“I honestly doubt there will be anything of importance here,” said Anabel, straightening her blouse. She let out a sigh. “Well, I suppose there’s only one way to find out, right?”  
Anabel, Elliot and Penny had been walking for quite a bit. The forest was difficult to navigate, and Anabel continuously complained about how difficult it was to walk through the thicket in heeled boots. Penny, on the other hand, tripped over her cloak countless times, and had not complained a single bit. Elliot traversed the forest with relative ease, as his attire was easy to move around in. It had been about ten minutes since they had came from breakfast, and the group was starting to get tired. So, it was definitely a relief when Penny had spotted the strange cabin. But then again, this was a run-down murder camp. How great could this be?  
The Attorney, the Seer and the Angler bounded towards the cabin, and headed up the stairs to the deck. Penny positioned herself in a fighting stance. “Fear not, mortals!” she cried. “The Great Penelope Claire shall use her supernatural abilities to enter the cabin of wonder!”  
“We could just try the doorknob,” muttered Elliot. “But you do you, I guess.”  
“The Great Penelope Claire sees no need to try the doorknob!” she cackled. “The door is locked, after all! So, I must use my mystical powers to bust the door open for my foolish mortal friends!”  
“Who are you calling foolish?” snarled Anabel. “You are the fool here. Your foolish psychic abilities are nonexistent. Your behavior is socially unacceptable. Only a fool like you would believe in such a childish thing like magic.”  
“Well, Penny thinks that you are a big dummy-dum foolish fooly fool!” The Seer blew a raspberry at the taller girl, who quickly turned the other way.  
“What childish behavior,” she muttered. “What a fool.”  
Elliot frowned. “Stop saying the word fool, you’re making it sound weird now.”  
“Yeah, Anadumb!” exclaimed Penny. “Stop saying the word fool! You’re making it sound foolish now!”  
Anabel looked as if she wanted to say something, but she stopped herself. She wondered if this whole scenario was some sort of strange reference to something, like a series of murder mystery visual novels of sorts. She shrugged it off. “We should go inside, let’s stop wasting time,” she said. She pushed Penny out of the way and tried the doorknob. When she found that she could not open it, she groaned. “It’s locked,” she said plainly. “Let’s try someplace else.” She began to head down the stairs, but Penny waved her hands out to stop her.  
“Have no fear!” cried Penny. “As Penelope the Great said earlier before the foolish Anabel so very rudely interrupted her, Penny has unique, powerful magic abilities at her disposal! Behold, the true ability of Penelope Avery Claire!” She readied a fighting stance, knees bent and hands in fists.  
Penny ran up to the door and kicked it as hard as she could. To her surprise, the door did not open! “Alas!” she screeched. “The Great Penelope Claire’s abilities have failed her! She must spend some more time meditating, borrowing the powers of the stars! She is… not strong enough!” She fell to the ground. “Penny… is… weak.”  
Elliot stared for a moment at the girl. He sighed, reaching into his pocket to reveal a bobby pin. “I can get it open, let’s get this over with.” He walked up to the doorknob and began to calmly pick the lock. When it popped open, he turned to the Seer, who was still lying on the deck in defeat. “It’s unlocked,’ he said simply, shoving the bobby pin back in his pocket. Penny looked up at the Angler, and her eyes grew wide.  
“No! It cannot be!” she gasped. She got up and peered at the taller boy. “Hm, hm… this is strange, very strange indeed!”  
“What’s strange?” he asked.  
“You used your magic psychic powers to open up that door!”  
“I just picked the lock.”  
“You have beaten the Great Penelope Claire! Penny thinks it’s amazing! Truly wondrous!”  
“Elliot thinks you’re overreacting.”  
“Penny thinks that you’re secretly a mage!”  
“Anabel thinks the two of you are being absolutely foolish, and that we should head inside.” The Attorney shot a glare at the two students, then pushed open the doors. Elliot and Penny glanced at each other, then followed Anabel inside the building.

The building, like all the other buildings they’ve encountered, was mostly made of wood. This one featured a long, empty desk with a large computer and some papers atop it. Behind the desk were several bookshelves filled with files and binders. Below the desk hung a small sign that read RECEPTION. Near the desk was a small, cobblestone fountain, the water pulsing out from the Monokuma statue’s mouth. To the side of the room was a seating area, furnished with an old-looking couch and a dusty coffee table. Nearby was a water dispenser and a coffee machine, as well as several cups, sugar and stirring sticks. There were also several potted plants placed about the room, as well as some strange looking paintings. Upon closer inspection, Anabel found that she recognized most of the paintings. Famous ones such as the Mona Lisa and The Birth Of Venus were framed and hung on the walls. However, she found it rather unsettling that all the humans’ faces had been replaced with Monokuma’s. She chose not to comment on such an oddity. Penny came skipping over to the paintings. Her hazel eyes narrowed at the sight. However, she quickly returned to her usual cheerful expression, turning to the Attorney.  
“Hm, hm! You see, the Great Penelope Claire was indeed correct!” she exclaimed, pointing eagerly to the strange paintings. “This cabin was indeed filled with wonderful things of oddity and mystery!”  
“I wouldn’t call them wonderful, though,” mumbled Anabel. “They’re so… surreal. So disturbing.”

Meanwhile, Elliot was inspecting the computer on the reception desk. He tapped the power button and the computer screen booted up. Soon, he was met with a completely black screen, save for the red letters smack in the middle.

**ENTER PASSWORD.**

Elliot raised an eyebrow. “A password…” he muttered. “What is this…?” Anabel, who had left Penny to observe the paintings, headed over to the reception desk.  
“What have you found?” she asked, bending down to see the computer better.  
“It’s asking for a password,” he replied, beginning to type. “Looks like I’m going to have to hack my way in.”  
Penny skipped over to the desk. “Ooh, Elliot! You know how to hack?!” She cackled. “Well, what else could I expect from a wonderfully-experienced mage?! Oh, I’m so proud. I’m sure you know all about how magic is very useful when it comes to computers and technology— magic is the basis of everything, after all!”  
Elliot glanced at the beaming girl and continued typing. “No, I don’t know how to hack,” he deadpanned. “I’m just spamming it with random passwords.” He finished typing and hit the enter key.

**WRONG PASSWORD. PLEASE TRY AGAIN.**

“I guess monokuma123 wasn’t it,” he grumbled. “I’m going to try, uh, let me in.”

**WRONG PASSWORD. PLEASE TRY AGAIN.**

“How about… I forgot?”

**WRONG PASSWORD. PLEASE TRY AGAIN.**

“The Great Penelope Avery Claire has suddenly had a vision!” Elliot and Anabel turned to her. “She knows the password!”  
“Please, do tell,” said Anabel.  
“Wait for it… the mystical, fantabulous predictions of the Great Penelope Avery Claire says… that the password… is password!” She cackled. “Ohoho!! Penny did not expect Monokuma to have such a superb sense of humor!” She turned to the Angler and the Attorney. “Gimme that keyboard, stat!”  
Elliot put his hands up and got up from the chair. Penny climbed up on the chair, stretched a bit, then typed in the password one key at a time.  
“P-A-S-S-W-O-R-D. The password is password.” She threw her hands up. “Open sesame!”

**ACCESS GRANTED.**

“What?!” She glared at the error message. “This cannot be! The Great Penelope Claire never fails!”  
Elliot put a finger on his chin. “Maybe it’s in lowercase,” he mumbled. Penny gasped and turned to the Angler with a smile upon her face.  
“Ah! That must be the answer, then! The Great Penelope Claire expects no less from a fellow magic user! Well done, well done!” She turned back to the computer and typed in the letters.  
“p-a-s-s-w-o-r-d,” she spelt. She bounced in her seat excitedly, then slammed the enter key. “Password!”

 

“Seriously? The password is password?” Anabel grumbled. “Just when I thought this stupid camp couldn’t get any more—”  
“Oh, don’t be jealous of our super psychic powers!” chirped Penny. “If you really wanted, you could learn and be a mage too!” Penny’s eyes lit up with excitement. “Ooh, Elliot and I could teach you the ways of magic! It’d be so exciting!”  
“Hey, leave me outta this,” Elliot sighed. “I just wanna live my life as a humble fisherman. I don’t want to get involved with supernatural forces, you got that?”  
Penny frowned. “Hm, hm! A great mage such as you cannot reject your destiny!”  
“What?”  
The Seer hopped off the chair and took Elliot’s hands. “Elliot Rothberg… you are a wizard. You must follow your destiny, and venture forth to the strange world of the Sharkicorns to recover the talisman of the Cow People! Then, you will become a true Super Stellar Wizard.” She let go of his hands and wiped away a tear. “Hm, hm… even the Great Penelope Claire couldn’t do it. But maybe you can!”  
Elliot stared at her for a moment. “Okay, fine, I’m a mage,” he said simply. “I specialize in, uh, transfiguration. I’ll turn you into a literal penny if you don’t be quiet.”  
Penny laughed. “You finally admit it! You are a powerful mage! But don’t worry about going to the world of the Sharkicorns, I only made that up! I mean, who’d even believe in such a thing? Sharkicorns? Psh! What a joke!”

Suddenly, the room began to shake. The papers began to slide off the desks and the stacked cups by the water fountain fell over. Penny cried out and fell off the chairwith a thud. Elliot and Anabel grabbed the desk to keep themselves stable, their eyes madly searching the room to see what was going on. Then, the sound of pulsing water from the fountain came to a halt, and the cobblestone began moving to the side. The fountain split in two, revealing a stairway underneath it. Then, the rumbling stopped. The three looked to each other, then at the newfound staircase.  
“Wh-what is this?!” cried Anabel. “A stairway?”  
“The Great Penelope Avery Claire says that we should totally go check it out!” Penny got up and bounded over to the strange staircase. “C’mon, what’re you waiting for?!”  
“Penny, wait,” called Elliot. “It might be a trap.” Anabel, who had began heading over to the staircase as well, came to a stop.  
“Elliot is correct,” she mumbled. “This could be a trap set by that Monokuma. Penny, please wait—”  
To her dismay, the Seer was already descending through the staircase. Her high voice echoed through the tunnel. “Guys? Don’t tell me you’re chickening out on me!”

“Hey, guys, what’s going on? We heard a lot of screaming and rumbling.”  
The group turned to the door and found Thomas standing there. His eyes widened at the sight of the strange staircase. “What the hell is that…?” he muttered. He turned to Anabel and Elliot. “Where’s Penny?”  
Elliot scoffed. “Down the stairs. Where’s your group?”  
“Ditched ‘em because I heard some screaming from over here. Just wanted to make sure you were all okay.” Thomas laughed to himself. “Man, I almost got lost again along the way. This camp sure is confusing.”  
Anabel dusted off her skirt. “We’re fine, no worries. But,” she gestured to the staircase, “we’ve found something of interest.”  
“Holy smokes…” Thomas approached the stairway and peered down. “This is so… weird.” He paused, then turned back to the group with a big smile on his face. “Well, let’s go check it out!” He bent down and began to make his way down the stairs.  
“Yay!” exclaimed Penny. “At least Mr. Big Guy knows how to have fun!! Onwards! We shall uncover the great mysteries of this campsite!!” Her voice grew increasingly distant as she travelled further down the staircase. Anabel and Elliot glanced at each other, and Elliot shrugged.  
“Screw it,” he muttered, approaching the staircase. “Let’s go.” Anabel frowned at him, then sighed.  
“Fine.” She hesitantly followed him down the staircase, making sure not to touch any of the grime and spiderwebs forming around the tunnel’s walls.

When the quartet finally got to the bottom of the flight of stairs, they found a strange, metal door. “The Great Penelope Claire has found… a door!” cried Penny, her voice echoing through the tunnel. “Penny thinks we should open it up, because wonderful things are beyond it!” She turned back to the group, arms akimbo. “I shall use my wonderful magical abilities to open this door up! Behold! The truest, most spectacular power of Penelope Avery Claire!”  
Thomas laughed. “Oh, you can use magic? That’s real cool.”  
“She’s just gonna kick down the door,” muttered Elliot. “But I bet this one’s locked too, like the last one—”  
“HIYAH!!”  
Sure enough, the door opened up as Penny’s heel collided with the metal. It slammed against the wall with great force, and behind it was a strange, new room. The room’s general appearance heavily contrasted the humble, bucolic feeling of the rest of the camp. The room had pristine walls and white tiled flooring. Several artistically designed light fixtures hung from the ceiling and illuminated the room with their bright light. Beanbag chairs and strangely shaped couches filled the room, as well as what appeared to be a bar. Near the bar were several arcade machines, featuring games such as Twilight Syndrome Murder Case, Soulcalibur, Pac-Man, Frogger, and even rhythm games such as Bullet Time Battle, as well as its successors, Panic Talk Action and Argument Armament. At the back of the room, there was a projector screen, several more beanbag chairs placed near it. A projector and a laptop sat on a rolling tray table, both off and unplugged. A radio near the screen played out some chill music.

Anabel walked in slowly, her heeled boots clacking on the white tiles. “This place is… different,” she remarked, inspecting the light fixtures. She nodded. “It is aesthetically pleasing though, I’ll give it that.”  
“Is this… a lounge?” asked Thomas. He was hesitant to touch anything, in fear that he might disturb the clean, pristine atmosphere of the room. Slowly, he walked over to the projector and began to fiddle with it. “How do you turn this on…?”  
“Here, let me try,” said Elliot. He headed over to the projector and began to plug in the wires to the laptop. He tapped the power button and the laptop immediately switched on. He thanked the heavens that this one lacked a password. When the computer turned on, the screen was completely blank save for the little cursor. He clicked around, but the screen stayed still. No applications or even a toolbar were visible, and the Angler muttered curses under his breath in frustration. He turned back to the group. “There’s nothing here,” he declared, slamming the computer shut. He sighed. “We should remember this, though. It could very much be useful later.”  
Anabel nodded. “That computer is peculiar,” she said. “What is its purpose? Are we able to call for help through emails? Is the internet accessible?” To the Attorney’s dismay, the Angler shook his head for each of her questions.  
“I don’t know what it’s for,” he mumbled. “I doubt we’ll be able to use it, though.”

Meanwhile, Penny was slumped over a particularly large beanbag. “Aaaahhh… this beanbag is so comfortable!” She turned to meet the eyes of the group. “We should stay here all day…!”  
“Hey! Cretins! What are you doin’ in my lounge?!”  
Surprised, the group turned to find that Monokuma was standing at the door. He shook his head as he walked over to them. “Upupu… this is my personal space! This is where I go to relax! I never said you fools could barge in here and…” He sniffled, taking out a handkerchief to wipe away a tear. “And… and… touch all my stuff…! Boohoohoo… you kids are really hurting my feelings! Maybe it’d be better if you were all to leave this camp and get out of my sight…!”  
Anabel jumped at the opportunity. “Please,” she begged. “Let us out.”  
To her dismay, the bear only cackled. “Puh-lease!! You thought I was being serious?!” He turned away. “I didn’t expect the Super Stellar Attorney to be so… gullible. Such a foolish child!”  
Anabel shot a glare at him. “You’re the foolish one here,” she hissed.  
Elliot sighed. “Here we go again, with the foolish talk.”  
Monokuma sighed, then waved at the group dismissively. “Eh, y’know what? I’ll let you.”  
“You’ll let us go?!”  
“What? No. I’ll let you dunces hang out in my beautiful, wonderful lounge.” He turned, and a sly smile crept across his face. “I’m surprised you even found out how to get in. And isn’t it funny that out of all of you, the Great Penelope Claire was the one who managed to figure out the password?” He cackled. “It’s so ironic! Because out of all of you, dearest Penny is the least competent and intelligent one here!” Before Penny had time to say anything. Monokuma waved a quick goodbye and headed back up the stairs.  
“H-hey! Wait! The Great… the… um… Penny…” She huffed, and stomped up to the door. “I want you to get back down here!” She peered up the stairwell, only to find that the bear was already gone.  
“He’s just making fun of you,” said Elliot, coming over to her. “The password was stupid, I think we can all agree on that.”  
“Horrendously stupid,” agreed Anabel.  
Penny sighed and looked up at the Angler with a smile. “Yeah.” She turned to the rest of the group. “Let’s go now! Penny predicts that everyone else is waiting for us at the dining hall!” With that, she bounded up the stairwell again, and the rest followed suit.

***

Tiny whispers flitted across the dining hall as the last four people marched in, scanning the dusty room for some seats further away from where Marion was sitting. Once they had all been seated, Rowan spoke up.  
“How was everybody’s investigations around the camp?” Only silence followed. She seemed quite calm considering their current situation of being trapped in a killing game, and tried to lead on a cheerful voice that only fooled half of the Super Stellars. Then, Anabel spoke up, breaking the group’s silence.

ANABEL: “We found Monokuma’s lair.”  
POPPY: “Wait, seriously? What’s he hiding in there?”  
THOMAS: “It’s hardly a lair, really. More of a lounge.”  
BLAKE: “A lounge?! Yo, where is it?”  
ELLIOT: “The reception office. The way in’s a bit weird, but I’d have to say, it’s a pretty cool lounge. We’d never have been able to get in if it weren’t for Penny’s magic seer powers.”  
PENNY: “Mhm! Elliot is absolutely correct! With the Great Penelope Claire’s powerful divination skills, she was able to guess the password and open up the lounge for everyone to enjoy!”  
ROWAN: “What was the password?”  
PENNY: “Password!”  
NOLAN: “Haha, that’s so funny. Monokuma’s got a good sense of humor.”  
VALERIE: “Alright, cool, you found a lounge. But what’s it got in there?”  
ELLIOT: “Beanbag chairs, arcade games, and a pretty cool radio.”  
JASPER: “Well, I know where I’ll be spending the rest of my time here.”  
POPPY: “Arcade games? What kinda games?”  
ELLIOT: “If I remember correctly, there were fighting games like Soulcalibur and Mortal Kombat. Some cool rhythm games, too.”  
BLAKE: “Ah shoot, I fuckin’ love Mortal Kombat.”  
POPPY: “Really? Let’s play one time! It’ll be fun!”  
BLAKE: “Hehe, sure. I’d gladly teach you the basics.”  
POPPY: “Mhm, alright…”  
MARION: “Let’s stop talking about the lounge. Now, Olive’s group, what did you guys find?”  
OLIVE: “We found the camp store, it’s just a short walk away from here.”  
TATE: “It’s filled with everything we’ll ever need to have a good time at the camp. Plus, I didn’t spot any price tags anywhere, so I think it’s safe to assume that everything’s just there for the taking.”  
VALERIE: “Hell yeah, free food!”  
NOLAN: “It’s also got a bunch of candy and s’mores kits! We should have a campfire night sometime!”  
JOLIE: “Ah, that sounds very pleasant!”  
BLAKE: “Count me in!”  
SAFFRON: “B-but when would that be?”  
NOLAN: “Hm? I dunno. In a few nights, maybe?”  
ROWAN: “I think that’d be great, Nolan.”  
POPPY: “Ooh!! We could sing songs around the fire! Any of you know any camp songs?”  
OLIVE: “My time has come.”  
CARMEN: “Anyway, we found a medical cabin of sorts. In case any of you guys get sick, we’ve got you covered.  
THOMAS: “Thing is, we’ve got no idea what any of the things in there are.”  
ROWAN: “Hm, I could come over there and help you out. What did you find? Just describe what you saw.”  
POPPY: “A bunch of beepy machines, some bottles full of liquid, and a lot of other things!”  
ROWAN: “Ah, hm… I think I’ll have to go over there to see for myself…”  
MARION: “Great, great. How about you guys, what’d you find?”  
SAFFRON: “W-we found a lake…”  
MARION: “Wow, that’s so cool. My heart is just pounding with excitement. Sorry, I didn’t know that this place had water.”  
JASPER: “Oh, shut up. We also found a fishing shed, but that’s about it.”  
MARION: “All these discoveries are so… interesting.”  
VALERIE: “Ah, quit it with the sassy talkin’. How about you, huh? What’d you find?!”  
MARION: “Hm? We found a bridge that extends to the mainland.”  
JOLIE: “You what?!”  
ELLIOT: “But why didn’t you mention that earlier?!”  
MARION: “Because it’s blocked off.”  
PENNY: “Yes, it’s blocked off! And the only way to open it is… is…”  
ROWAN: “Apologies, but Penny, nobody wants to hear how it opens.”  
PENNY: “We have to survive a camp trial in order for the bridge to open! How devastating!”  
BLAKE: “W-well, uh, I g-guess that bridge is never opening, then…!”  
TATE: “What a shame.”  
THOMAS: “But, uh, you’ll never know, right…?”  
ROWAN: “Shut up.”  
POPPY: “Guys, don’t worry! Nobody’s going to die here, right? I mean, who’d even consider taking up Monokuma’s offer? It’s a load of bullshoot!”  
ANABEL: “I’m hoping that none of you are plotting murder. Then again, we are only teenagers. I don’t think any of us even have the heart to kill someone.”  
VALERIE: “Exactly! Like, even if you do end up gettin’ out, you’ll live with the guilt that you killed all your classmates! I don’t fuckin’ get why the hell anyone would ever consider it.”  
ELLIOT: “I’m putting all my trust in you guys, alright? Nobody’s gonna die.”  
BLAKE: “A-anyway, let’s change the topic! Jolie, Val and I found a sick tennis court.”  
VALERIE: “The hell do you mean, sick tennis court?! The place is borin’ as all hell.”  
JOLIE: “Unfortunately, I’d have to agree. The tennis court contains everything we need to play a good game of tennis, but I doubt any of us are passionate about the sport.”  
NOLAN: “You don’t have to be passionate about it to play it, though! I’d be willing to check it out.”  
VALERIE: “Save it, the place is shit.”  
SAFFRON: “S-so… um, what now?”  
ROWAN: “What do you mean, what now?”  
SAFFRON: “I m-mean… we’ve finished exploring the c-camp, right…? Now, uh, what are we doing?”  
MARION: “So, just to clarify. Besides the bridge, did anyone find any ways out of the camp?”  
POPPY: “No…”  
ANABEL: “Unfortunately not.  
ELLIOT: “Sorry.”  
THOMAS: “So we’re trapped in.”  
BLAKE: “God damn it.”  
OLIVE: “Uh, on a lighter note, we’re still on board for that campfire night, right?”  
TATE: “Yes, but… we’re all still trapped in here for the rest of our lives. We’ll soon get bored, and what if someone decides to take up Monokuma’s offer?”  
ROWAN: “I don’t like to think about it. Now, hm, I’d say that we’ve all got some free time.”  
CARMEN: “Free time…?”  
ROWAN: “Yes, I think we’re all free to do whatever we please. I’m assuming lunch will be at 12, so I expect all of you to return to the dining hall then. If anybody finds any way out of the camp, or at least a clue as to who our captors are, let us know then.”  
BLAKE: “Alright! I’m off to check out that lounge! Elliot, show me the way!”  
ELLIOT: “Ah, of course…”

With that, the DJ and the Angler exited the dining hall. Then, one by one, the rest of the class departed from the building until only Rowan and Jasper remained. The two sat there silently, not knowing what exactly to do. Jasper sighed.  
“So, uh, I guess I’ll be off too,” he mumbled, getting up from his seat.  
“I just hope nothing bad will happen here.”  
Jasper turned to her. “What?”  
Rowan let out a sigh. “I just… we’re all going to be trapped here for the rest of our lives. I’m having trouble accepting it, is all.” She turned to the window and saw that Poppy and Blake were excitedly talking about something together. “Some of us are being really… positive about our current situation, but others… I… I’m just afraid that something will happen.”  
Jasper sat down next to the Pathologist. “Don’t worry,” he said. “I’m trying my best to trust everyone here, and I’m sure that nobody’ll give in.”  
“No, I just… remember what Nolan said earlier, to Poppy?”  
“What? Uh, I don’t remember anything specific.”  
“Ah, yes, you arrived late, I forgot. It’s just… Poppy kept talking about staying hopeful in this situation, but that Nolan boy, he dismissed it as being naive. And… and I really, really hate to suspect others in this situation. I really want to trust everyone, but... am I being too naive here?”  
Jasper sighed. “No, you’re not. I think that, uh, if you’re really trying to believe in everyone, I think that’s a good thing. If you’re too paranoid and skeptical of everyone, I don’t think you’ll make many friends. And I think that… man, it sounds weird coming from me, but if we make friends with everyone here, I think it’ll lower the chances of a murder occurring.”  
“But if we’re friends with everyone, it’ll only hurt more if one of us dies, right…?”  
Jasper blinked. “I… I don’t want to think about that.”  
“Me neither.”  
The Jeweler yawned and got up from where he was sitting. “Now, I’m off to check out that lounge that they mentioned. It sounds pretty cool, I think.” He turned to the Pathologist. “See you around, I guess.”

With that, Jasper exited the building, and Rowan was left to her own thoughts. She thought about what’d happen in this camp. Sixteen, talented teenagers, all trapped in a camp for the rest of eternity. Would anyone snap and give in, taking up Monokuma’s offer? She really wanted to believe that nobody would go insane and that her classmates were good people. But good people could do horrible things under the correct circumstances. She sighed, getting up from the table. Perhaps it’d do her best to make some friends around the camp. She pushed open the doors to the dining hall and let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding.

She hoped that it’d all be okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The formatting is slightly better on the google doc, sorry ;;


	5. Chapter 1: Naivete and Paranoia (Daily Life II)

Carmen dragged behind. She was already down to her last layer— a thin tank top, yet she was dangerously close to passing out from the heat. Penelope, on the other hand, was dressed in several layers of garments and perfectly content.  
“What’s taking so long?” Penny sighed as she ruffled the collar of her flowy cloak. “I’ve had to stop for you at least four times by now!” Carmen glared at her.  
“It is so hot here! How are you living?! Tell me we’re almost there.” Penelope rolled her eyes and nodded as she swirled her hands through the slight breeze.  
“My predictions are never incorrect— I can tell that we are definitely, very, extremely close to the cabins. Then I can stick you in a fridge to cool you down.” Carmen stuck her tongue out at her and gave a long groan as they trudged down the cobblestone steps that lead to Penny’s home. Fake, glittery stars on the top plank of her doorway, tickling their heads. 

The hinges squeaked in protest when Penny slowly opened the door. Ignoring her sudden cries, Carmen charged into the room and pulled the window all the way open in one swift push. Penny flopped down on her bed. “Welcome to my humble crib.” The Seer gestured to everything around the room.  
All sixteen of the cabins were formatted exactly the same. A springy bed with two fluffy pillows and a thick quilt imprinted with Monokuma’s face were placed in the far right of the room, with a stout night stand beside it. The little shelf composed of two drawers had a small fake plant sitting on top of it, and the greyish paint was chipping off of the sides as well. There was a tall closet opposite of the shelf that included several day outfits tailored to their size (mysteriously) and appropriate to their Super Stellar. It also included a set of pajamas, a swimming suit, some shoes and socks, and a few undergarments. Beside the closet was an adjustable window, and a desk sat across from the bed, decorated with stationary, a stack of paper, and a couple books corresponding to their talent. On the left sat a door to a small bathroom.  
Penelope’s room was adorned with many decorations that were obviously put up by herself. Delicate beige sheets were draped over the planks on supporting the roof surrounding the bed to make a canopy bed. A crystal ball that seemed suspiciously fake sat on her night stand, while her closet was filled with layers and layers of thin, feathery clothing and cloaks of every colour you could imagine. The Skier silently wondered to herself when Penny had time to set all of this up. The room had a light aura to it that made Carmen feel a little better as she flopped down on the bed beside Penelope.

“So you can predict the future, huh?” Carmen wondered if it had all been a show and Penny was somehow working with Monokuma— perhaps she was the mole?  
“Oh, heavens no! I don’t predict the future! I know the future! The future comes as a vision to me! I can’t blindly guess at what’s about to happen, now can I?” She gave Carmen a wink. “Why the interest? Are you wishing to fulfill your dream of become a mage as well? Oh, this will be so fun! I could train both you and Elliot together!”  
“Uh, no thanks. I was just wondering— would you be able to know the future of this... this killing game?” Even though they both winced at the words, it was undeniable. Carmen hoped they would find a way out without killing anyone, and some of Penny’s “visions” would help with that. After all, she’d been correct with them so far.  
“Oh. My. Gosh! Carmen, you’re a genius. Okay, bring that crystal ball to me.” Penny closed her eyes and got into a meditation pose. Grabbing the crystal ball in her hands, she told Carmen to turn off the lights. As she did, Penelope suddenly gasped.  
“THE GREAT PENELOPE CLAIRE HAS HAD A VISION!” She yelled, startling Carmen and nearly making her trip over the plush rug in the center of the room. “Penelope, warn me next time! Jesus!” She found her way back to Penny who was staring intently at the crystal ball that now had swirly white fog inside.  
“I see… I see us! Our group! The sixteen of us!” Penelope waved her hands around dramatically, pointing to different items around the cabin for no reason at all. “We’re… what are we doing?” A gasp escaped from her mouth. “WE’RE FIGHTING MONOKUMA! Yes, all sixteen of us are fighting him! Oh, this is so grand!” She gushed, spreading her arms open and accidentally hitting Carmen in the face. Penny didn’t notice and continued, “BUT WAIT! THERE’S MORE! OH MY GOSH, WE’RE ESCAPING! WE’RE LEAVING THIS PLACE ON… ON A… A BOAT! YES, A BOAT! THIS IS SO EXCITING! AREN’T YOU EXCITED, CARMEN?!”  
The Seer was practically screaming at this point. Carmen was less excited, however and was wondering how she had gathered so much information from some mist but decided to stay silent. After all, she needed Penny’s help.  
“Well, that’s good. None of us will die. Except for that teddy bear, but that’s the best part. Hey, can you see anything else in the swirly thing?” Carmen tried to put some fake enthusiasm into her voice. Penelope squinted and peered into the now changing glass ball once more. She dramatically gasped again.  
“I see something! Oh, the shapes are forming! Wait… is that rope? It’s hanging from a tree… Oh… Oh, no… Carmen… It appears that… there’s going to be a suicide.” Carmen shook her head sadly.  
“Can you tell who commits suicide?”  
“No, it’s too blurry. All I see is the definite body shape.”  
“Oh…” Carmen stopped to ponder Penny’s newest prediction. Just a second before, Penny had claimed that the 16 of them would escape safely. But then right after, she predicted that somebody would commit suicide. Those predictions were definitely contradictory. The Skier wondered how accurate Penny’s predictions really were. “Do you see anything else?”  
“Hold on…” The mist shifted and Penelope gave another one of her infamous dramatic gasps.  
“Ooh, yeah! I see… the old shed? Oh, the fishing shed, I think. Ooh, something in there… THE ROPE! THE ROPE IS GOING TO BE VERY IMPORTANT SOON!” The Seer shouted in Carmen’s ear and jumped around wildly. “Maybe we’ll find a way to escape with it! Ooh, this is SO EXCITING!” She shouted the last words into Carmen’s (almost deaf) ear and flopped down on the bed again.  
“Let’s see if we can find even more!” Giddy with excitement, she squinted at the glass ball again.  
“Oh… Monokuma? He’s…lying? No, he’s telling the truth… oh, what is he telling the truth about? Wait, he’s telling the truth about lying? No… oh! He’s telling the truth about the fact that there’s a liar in the group!” Carmen stared at her.  
“Seriously? Somebody in this group is actually lying about their talent? But why? It’s not like we’d judge them or anything…” Penelope gave her a little shrug.  
“I don’t know… maybe their talent is really embarrassing! Like… they’re secretly a Super Stellar Ticket Stamper or something! Anyways, do you think we can see more?” She glanced excitedly at the mist, but this time nothing changed. Disappointed, Penny put the glass ball back on top of her night stand.  
“Looks like it’s not gonna tell us any more.”  
“It’s okay, Penelope, let’s go outside and play tetherball or something. I noticed this camp had some when we were exploring.” Penny gave a long sigh but followed her out the door, hoping at least half of her predictions would come true.

***

“And… there! Three flawless victories in a row,” declared Poppy, releasing her joysticks. She smirked at the DJ, whose mouth hung agape at his continuous losses. “You owe me a milkshake from the camp store right now! Go!”  
“Damn it! Are you kidding me?!” Blake pounded his fists on the poor arcade machine in frustration. “The camp store’s all the way at the other side of the camp…” Poppy stifled a giggle as the boy sighed in defeat. He turned up to look at her. “Th-that was beginner’s luck!” he protested. “We’ve gotta rematch to make it fair!”  
Elliot turned the page of the book he got from the camp store. “That match seemed pretty fair to me,” he said, not even bothering to look up from his reading. “You shouldn’t be such a sore loser.” Blake turned to the Angler and shot a glare at him, but the other boy didn’t even flinch.  
“I’m not a sore loser!” he shot back. “I’m… I’m just a bit annoyed, is all! That the undefeated Blake Milford Marcato was finally, uh, defeated…!”  
Poppy smiled at him. “Don’t underestimate me! Now, go get me that milkshake!” Blake let out a sigh.  
“Fine, fine!” He put up his hands and backed out of the lounge. “I’m going, okay? Off to get you your milkshake, Your Majesty.” With that, the DJ scurried up the stairs, muttering something to himself about wanting a rematch.  
The arcade machine displayed a GAME OVER in large lettering, then returned to the title screen. Poppy was glad that none of the arcade machines here required currency to play. Then again, currency didn’t seem to be a problem in this campsite. The camp store was devoid of price tags or labels, food was offered for free, and Poppy hadn’t spotted a single dollar bill ever since she had arrived. This got her thinking— where exactly was this camp? Was this camp built for a special purpose? Questions about the camp filled her mind, but she brushed them off. Poppy wanted to keep a positive outlook on this whole situation. Though it was hard, she just had to believe in and trust her classmates. Nobody would die, and she was absolutely sure of that.  
“So, what do you think of this place?”  
Poppy turned to the Angler. “Hm?”  
“I mean, a lot of people are freaking out about this situation. But you seem relatively calm, dare I say carefree. Might I ask why?”  
Poppy shuffled her feet. “Eh, I dunno. I guess that I don’t believe in this whole killing game thing,” she admitted. “It’s probably just some elaborate prank by the Institute, y’know? They did say that their teaching methods were quite unorthodox.”  
Elliot turned to look at her, then sighed. “If it’s a prank, I don’t find it very funny. But I’m honestly praying that it is.” He flipped the page. “And if it’s not, I’m going to pray that nobody actually… plays this twisted game.” Poppy’s eyes widened. She went to take a seat next to the Angler on the couch.  
“D-don’t worry. If this horrible game is actually real, then… remember what Anabel said earlier? None of us really have the heart to kill anyone, right?”  
The Angler shrugged. “I guess.”

Then, Blake burst back into the lounge. Heaving and out of breath, he trudged over to Poppy and handed her a tall milkshake. “Here’s your prize,” he huffed. “Now, we’ve gotta rematch!”  
Poppy peered at the pink milkshake. “Mmm… what flavor is this?”  
“Strawberry.”  
She winced. “Strawberry?” She handed it back to the DJ. “I’m not too fond of strawberry.”  
Blake’s mouth fell open. “Are you fuckin’ kidding me, yo?! Then what kinda flavor do you like?”  
Poppy pondered this for a moment. “Hmm… cherry! Definitely cherry. I love cherry!” Blake grimaced at her, and Poppy laughed at his expense. “Sorry! I guess you’ve gotta head back now, huh?”  
“Yep.” He held up the strawberry shake and sighed. “Man, dude. What am I gonna do with this thing now? I’m not gonna drink it.”  
Elliot, still neglecting to look up from his reading, reached up for it. “I’ll have it. Pass.” Blake hesitated, then groaned as he gave it to the Angler. Smirking, Elliot immediately took a big sip from the drink. “I love strawberry. Thanks, man.” Blake nodded at the other boy, then took off for the camp store yet again. Elliot turned back to Poppy. “Anyway, we were talking about… about this game, right?”  
“Mhm.” Poppy sighed and rested her head against the couch’s arm. “I really don’t believe in the killing game thing that Monokuma talked about. But I’m sort of worried about our families.”  
“Ah, yes.” Elliot put the book to the side. “If this isn’t a prank, then… I’m terribly worried about my family as well. My siblings, in particular.”  
“You have siblings?”  
“Yep. Eric and Evelyn. I love them both so much, you’ve got no idea. And if we’re seriously trapped in here forever like… like prisoners, then… we’ll never see our families again, hm?”  
Poppy looked away. “Mmm… I don’t want to think about that. I like to believe that this whole game’s just a joke. A sick joke, sure, but a joke nonetheless.” She smiled up at the Angler. “I mean, they’ve gotta be kidding, right? This whole thing’s like some plot from an anime visual novel or something.”  
Elliot laughed. “Yeah, yeah. It’s like we’re trapped in some fictional world or something. It’s almost funny, when you think about it.”  
“Ooh, yeah! Like, what if we don’t actually exist? What if we’re just characters in some story? I mean, it’d totally explain this weird scenario, right?”  
“Oh, god!” Elliot put his milkshake down and laughed again. “Stop it with your silly philosophical musings, will you?”  
“Yeah, yeah, sure.”

The pair’s laughter was interrupted by a door being kicked open. Spinning around at the sudden noise, they found that Blake had appeared at the door again. He headed over to Poppy and handed her the cherry milkshake she had requested. “Here you go!” he said, out of breath. “Your milkshake! Now, can we rematch?”  
“Actually,” said Elliot, passing him his empty cup, “I’m done my milkshake. Would you ever so kindly head back and grab me another?” Blake frowned at him and smacked the plastic cup out of his hand.  
“I’m not your fuckin’ maid!” he blurted out, and Poppy began laughing. “If you want another milkshake, you’ve gotta beat me in one of these arcade games!”  
Elliot smiled at him and got up from the couch. “Alright, you’re on. How about we try something other than a fighting game, then?”  
Blake’s eyes narrowed. “Such as…?”  
“A… rhythm game? Or we could try Frogger, see who gets the furthest or something like that.”  
“Haha, sure! I’m great at all video games anyway, so I’ll still emerge victorious in whatever game we choose!”  
Poppy snorted. “Unlike last time?”  
Blake turned to her. “Hey, hey. We’re gonna ignore that, alright? Pretend it never happened.” He headed over to the Argument Armament machine and tapped the start button. An image of a blonde girl with a gown and a mask promptly appeared on the screen. “Now get over here so we can play! You’re going down, fish boy!”

 

***

“Come on. Just one game? Please?” The Equestrian tried for a puppy face. The Lucky Student shook her head as he sighed.  
“Absolutely not. I’m terrible at tennis. And who knows? You might be leading me to some crappy death trap. So, no.” She started walking away from him, a clear sign that she did not want to be bothered.  
“I’ll share my dessert with you.”  
“Anyone can go up for seconds.” Valerie didn’t bother turning back to look at him.  
“I’ll roast your marshmallow at the campfire for you.”  
She turned and raised her eyebrows. “We’re having a campfire tonight?” How come she hadn’t known this? She needed to be more connected to her “classmates”. It was her strategy so she wouldn’t get killed— to become friends with everybody (even Marion if necessary) to lessen her chances of dying. Nolan grinned at her, happy that he finally got her attention.  
“No, tomorrow night.. I’m planning one. And if you come, I’ll roast your marshmallow for you. Hell, I’ll roast two marshmallows. But only if you come play tennis with me. Pretty please?” She bit her lip, thinking. Playing tennis with Nolan would allow her to be friends with him.  
“Fine. You get one game of tennis, and those marshmallows better be the best marshmallows you’ve ever roasted your whole life!” Nolan brightened, pleased that he finally had gotten what he wanted. So, they both made their way to the tennis court.

“What are these things?” Valerie made a face at the dusty spare overgrip and tennis strings that were shoved off to the corner of the old shed.  
“I think those neon tape thingies are the things you put on the handle of your racket, and the strings are just spare strings in case the ones on your racket break. I think.” He picked up two tennis rackets while a funny looking machine spewed out a couple fresh, yellow tennis balls for Valerie.  
“Looks like we’re set.” Nolan gestured towards the door and Valerie followed, hoping she wouldn’t embarrass herself too much. “Wait.” The Lucky Student stopped short at the boundary line. “Do you even know how to play tennis? Because I sure don’t.” Nolan rolled his eyes.  
“Of course I do! I’m not completely hopeless. Basically you hit the ball back and forth. If it lands outside the boundaries, whoever touched it last— well, I guess the other person gets a point. If you miss, the other person gets a point. And, uh, we stop when… whenever I win. Got it?”  
Valerie made a face at him. “You just made that up just now. You have no idea how to play, don’t you?”  
“Yes, no, maybe so? Whatever, let’s just try. It’ll be fun!” He quickly jogged over to the far end of the court and cupped his hands to shout. “Do you know how to serve?!”  
“Of course I know how to serve! I’m not stupid!” Valerie, in fact, did not know how to serve and had never played tennis before. Nevertheless, she wasn’t about to admit that to Nolan. Valerie tried to plaster a fake smile on her face as she stepped up to a random line and stood so her body was angled sideways. Nolan burst out into laughter and dropped his racket on the ground.  
“That’s the wrong fucking line! You’re out of the boundaries! I thought you knew how to serve!” Valerie stuck out her tongue and observed the lines around her.  
“WHERE ELSE AM I SUPPOSED TO FUCKING SERVE, THEN?!” The Equestrian realized he had, indeed, gotten the lines incorrect and that Valerie was standing right where she was supposed to be standing. Her stance was funny-looking, though. She somehow managed to spin her waist and legs sideways while her torso and head were looking perfectly forward. Her legs were stiff, and her fingers grasped her racket too tightly. He shook his head.  
“WHOOPS, MY BAD! GO AHEAD WITH HOWEVER YOU WANT TO SERVE, LUCKY!” He bellowed back and prepared to hit the ball back at her, but Valerie didn’t get very far. She tried to drop the ball on her racket and toss it up at the same time, but the ball flew backwards behind her and into the thick bushes behind her. The Equestrian went into a laughing fit once again, rolling around on the ground while Valerie had to go searching in the shrubs for the rubbery ball. The Lucky Student soon emerged from the forest with a now dishwater-coloured tennis ball with bits of leaves and dirt stuck all around it and several leaves in her hair as well.  
“YOU GO SERVE IF YOU’RE SO CLEVER! GO ON, GO ON!” She swung the ball at him aiming for his head, but the Equestrian caught it. Tossing the ball up into the air, he swung at it with all his might from the wrong angle completely. It bounced forcefully on the ground right between his legs and bounced back up as he howled in pain. Valerie was the one bursting into laughter this time as she got another fresh ball from the machine.  
“Here, let’s start over. Maybe a lot closer to the net this time?” She managed to get out after her sea of giggles. Nolan, crippling in pain, attempted to crawl up to the halfway point between the boundary and the net. Valerie got into her funny stance again and managed to make the ball fly forward to the net but alas, it bounced against it and back at her. Nolan laughed weakly and stood up at last.  
“You’ll have to do better than that…” He grabbed the ball she threw at him in anger. Stepping even closer to the net, He swung at the ball once more. The bright yellow ball streaked across the court,going all the way to the end.  
“I GOT IT!” Valerie made a wild dash for it. “I GOT IT! I GOT-” The ball bounced right on the boundary line. “OUT!” She cried. “You hit it out! That’s a fucking point for me!” She cheered gleefully and blew raspberries in his face while he rolled his eyes.  
“You only got a point because I messed up! You have no skill whatsoever!” Nolan dropped his racket on the ground and held his hands up in surrender. “Okay, I give up. That was an absolute disaster.” Valerie did a victory dance around the court.  
“HA! You’re only quitting because I WON!” Nolan rolled his eyes. She stopped dancing, out of breath, and picked up the rackets and tennis balls. Valerie headed back in the shed with a huge smile on her face, and for once, she didn’t mind the dust. 

***

“Okay, I believe that covers just about everything here,” Rowan concluded as she rearranged the heart monitors to sit across the reclining beige chairs. “I hope this will come in useful if someone is injured… there is a lot of medicine I recognize from when I was studying pathology in my earlier years.”  
Thomas glanced at her with a surprised expression. “How old were you when you started studying pathology?” Rowan paused, considering. How long had she been in medicine for? She had vague memories of helping her family through their sickness and eventually being recognized by medical schools around the world. How old had she been?  
“Well, I’ve been taking care of my family since I was very young, but I think I started studying medicine at about the age of ten.”  
The Lacrosse Player shook his head in disbelief. “This camp is full of super kid masterminds. We’ve got, like, lawyers, pathologists and engineers, and then you’ve got me. All I do is catch a ball in this net thing, man!”  
Rowan smiled sincerely. “I’m sure there’s more to that. Did you ever compete in competitions?” Thomas nodded.  
“Well, yeah. I was the youngest player on my team, and I’m still one of the best. The only guy who was better than me was some guy from Iqaluit who had been training since he was born.” She patted his shoulder comfortingly.  
“See? That’s incredible. Everybody is talented in their own way. Come on, let’s go see how everybody else is doing,” Rowan gently closed the doors of the big medical cabin behind her and adjusted her eyes to the new surroundings. The sun shone brightly above the trees in the distance. Thomas sighed and turned to her.  
“Where do you want to go? There’s not much to do around here.”  
“Of course there is! You just don’t know how to look. Say, didn’t Blake mention something about there being a tennis court here? We can go and play a game of tennis.  
“Uh, I’m pretty sure Valerie and Nolan are doing that.”  
“Well then, let’s go join them. They won’t mind.” Ignoring the Lacrosse Player’s complains, she took his arm and pulled him towards the tennis court.

For the fourth time that day, Rowan and Thomas were lost. The forest setting became more and more familiar, and it didn’t take long for the pair to realize they had been going around in circles. Frustrated, Thomas flopped down on the hard ground and sighed.  
“I knew this was a bad idea. Now we’re lost!” Rowan rolled her eyes and dragged him back up again.  
“I’m sure we’ll find the tennis court soon. It has these big grey poles, right? Well, look out for those.”  
And soon enough, the Lacrosse Player and the Pathologist reached the tennis court. Shrieks of laughter was heard, and suddenly a bright yellow tennis ball bounced in their direction. Thomas grabbed Rowan to the side as they secretly watched Valerie burst into the woods, searching for it, bits of leaves and dirt stuck all over her outfit and hair.  
All Thomas could do to keep from bursting out loud in laughter was clamp his mouth shut.  
Rowan tried to sneak away when she disappeared back to Nolan, but Thomas grabbed her arm and made her stay put. Sighing, she plopped down on the forest ground without bothering to fix her shirt, wondering if snooping on Valerie and Nolan was a bad idea. Surely they would get caught. How would everyone think of her if they found out she spied on people? “YOU GO SERVE IF YOU’RE SO CLEVER! GO ON, GO ON!” Valerie’s high-pitched voice could be recognizable anywhere.  
“Aaand we’re back with the Super Stellar Tennis Championships! It appears that Millstein has butchered her first serve, while Canter is getting quite a laugh out of this shit player,” Thomas whispered, snickering away. The Pathologist shook her head.  
“How do you get joy from other people’s downfalls? Are you some sort of sadist?” Thomas nearly burst out laughing again.  
“No! A sadist is someone who actually does the hurting and enjoys it! I’m a gloater!”  
“A… gloater? So, you brag to everyone about how sad other people’s lives are? I’m sensing some irony here.”  
“Okay, how about the feeling of schadenfreude?”  
“Uh, may I ask what schadenfreude is?” Thomas snorted quietly.  
“For your information, a schadenfreude is this emotion a person feels when they get enjoyment out of other people’s failures and pain. Oh hey, look! Valerie’s trying to kill Nolan! Woopee, our first case is solved!” In the distance, Rowan could make out the shape of Nolan attempting to serve once more, but it was evident he was not very good at it. His ball bounced on the ground and back up again, hitting a very unfortunate area of the male body. As Nolan howled in pain, Thomas could barely stop himself from bursting out into laughter.  
“Oh my god, tree girl! The guy’s got hit in the nuts! While trying to serve his own fucking ball!” The Pathologist clamped her hand over his mouth.  
“Quit laughing at them! Do you think you could serve better? Besides, they might find us— so shush.” Valerie had already fallen on the floor laughing, while Nolan winced and limped back to his original position. Covering his hand to mimic a microphone, The Lacrosse Player whispered, “It appears that Canter has injured him severely in the balls while attempting to serve, giving Millstein quite a laugh,” and snorted. “They could have their own comedy show. No acting required.”  
Rowan tried to sneak away from the silly game. She didn’t think they would appreciate their snooping, so she told Thomas just that.  
“Oh, come on,” he sighed and rolled his eyes. “This is fun. Look, they know they’re failing so they’re trying to serve closer to the net. Five bucks Valerie still can’t serve.” Thomas was indeed correct, as her ball bounced against the net and right back to her feet.  
“Millstein has now butchered her serve once again, and Nolan is having a problem containing his laughter. Will these teams ever get the ball over the net? Find out next time on… THOMAS’S TENNIS TRASH TALK! Cue theme song! Aaand… out!!”  
Rowan sighed and got up, brushing her hands on her pants. Thomas was nice at times, but at other times he could be quite insensitive. She was about to leave her bush when a blur of yellow streaked across the net. Valerie screamed and made a wild dash for it, and was about to catch the ball when it landed right behind the boundary line.  
“OUT!” She cried. “You hit it out! That’s a fucking point for me!”, and started victory dancing across the court while sticking her tongue out at The Equestrian.  
“Oh shit!” Thomas said, not bothering to keep his voice down. “The girl got a point because Nolan served too well!” Holy shit, he sucks!”  
Rowan managed to suppress the laugh that came from watching Valerie laugh right in Nolan’s face. The two could become best friends, she thought as she sneaked away silently without Thomas. After all, we’re living here for the rest of our lives.  
If nobody killed anyone.  
Scolding herself for for such a thought was useless. Worry clouded over everybody’s heads all the time, raining thoughts of murder. Would life get harder, or easier? No, she had to trust the people here. They would never kill anyone else. She was positive.

***

Jasper casually browsed the aisles of the camp store, sipping on a rocky road milkshake. He found that the store had a pretty decent selection. The store was indeed stocked with everything they needed to have a good time. S’mores kits, tons of books, simple souvenir toys, you name it. The best part had to be the lovely milkshake making machine that featured over a dozen of flavors. The Jeweler figured that Blake must’ve taken a liking to these milkshakes. He rushed in just a few minutes before, whipped up a strawberry shake, and left. Then, only a few minutes later, he ran in again to grab a cherry one. As the boy left, Jasper silently wondered how one could finish a milkshake that quickly.  
The bells above the door rang as another person entered the store. Jasper poked his head above the book display and saw that Jolie had decided to check out the store as well. The Jeweler sauntered over to her and gave a nonchalant wave. “Hey,” he said. “How’s it hanging?”  
Jolie frowned at him. “Horrible, just horrible.” She sighed and picked up a bag of gummy Monokumas from the nearby candy rack. She ripped it open and popped a green one into her mouth. “This camp is completely unsanitary! Horrible, spiky bushes and disgusting spiderwebs everywhere… it’s so revolting! Why couldn’t we have been trapped in, like, a fancy hotel or something? I’d take a cruise ship over this disgusting site!”  
Jasper shrugged. “I mean, we’re in a camp. Did you expect chandeliers and sparkling clean floors?”  
“It would’ve been nice.” She sighed. “The only sanitary area in this horrid place has to be that lounge that Elliot and them found. I’m going to be spending all of my time there, I swear.”  
“Oh, same. The place has some arcade machines there too, which is pretty cool. We could try playing one later, if you’d like.”  
Jolie smiled down at the short boy awkwardly. “Ah, thank you for the offer. Unfortunately, I’d have to decline. I have never touched a video game in my life.”  
“Eh, I won’t force you to play if you don’t want to.”  
The Supermodel finished the tiny bag of gummies and tossed it in the trash. “Thank you.” She then began to peer at the store’s wares. “This store really is something. None of these products seem of quality, but I suppose this is all quite nice.” She paused at the sight of a large red t-shirt with Monokuma’s smiling face on it. She grimaced at it, then turned to Jasper. “You know what really bugs me about this camp?”  
Jasper looked up at her. “Huh? What?”  
“The fact that we’re stuck in these same clothes for the rest of eternity.” She pulled on the collar of her fluffy black coat. “It’s ridiculously stupid! Although I look absolutely gorgeous in any outfit, I cannot stand wearing one outfit for too long!”  
“Yeah, it’s pretty ridiculous. Kinda funny, too.”  
“How could you find this funny? Tell me!”  
“I mean, when I opened my wardrobe last night, I did not expect to find thirty exact replicas of my current clothing just… sitting there. All tailored to my size, too. It’s funny, but actually kinda creepy.”  
Jolie put a finger on her chin. “Yes, now that I think about it, it’s quite creepy. Did our captors take our measurements while we were unconscious?” She shivered. “That’s so… inappropriate!”  
“Think positive. Maybe they just have a cloning gun and used it on our outfits to create tons at once. Technology is amazing.” Jasper followed the Supermodel as she checked out the store’s inventory. “Anyway, as I was saying. It’s funny, kinda. Because Marion’s got like, thirty tiny top hats now.”  
Jolie snickered at the thought of Marion’s secret pile of tiny top hats. “Oh, yes! And that boy Blake has thirty of his… unique getup!”  
Jasper shook his head. “What was he thinking with that outfit?” he mused. Jolie held back a laugh as the Jeweler continued. “I mean, you can’t pair an ugly sweater with teal hair and a sparkling tuxedo. And those gym shorts… his whole outfit’s mismatched. I’m not one to care much about fashion, but I can’t ignore the atrocity that Blake’s got on.”  
Jolie burst out in laughter. “Right? When I first saw him, I thought I was gonna puke!” She calmed down a bit and continued walking. “Anyway, about the outfit replicas. That Saffron boy’s got thirty flower crowns now, and apparently Anabel’s stuck wearing her work getup for the rest of her life.”  
“Oh, Saffron doesn’t have thirty flower crowns,” corrected Jasper. “He was here at the camp store with me earlier because he wanted to grab a notebook, and we were talking about it. Turns out, he’s only got one. Which is sort of unfair, actually.”  
“Ah, that’s too bad, then. Would’ve been funny. He could’ve given us all one each, and we would’ve all looked like woodland elves or something.”  
“It really would’ve been.”

Jolie paused and picked up a container filled with plastic beads. She tilted the container, and the little beads rolled around. “Hmm… do you think you’d be able to create something out of these dull beads? You are the Super Stellar Jeweler, after all.”  
Jasper took the container from her. “Yeah, definitely.” Suddenly, his eyes lit up and he gasped. “Oh, I’ve got an idea for something we could all do together!”  
“Hmm…? Do tell.”  
“Alright, so you’d agree that we’re all afraid of this killing game thing, right? It’s weird to say this, but if we begin to form close bonds with each other it’ll lower the chances of a murder. I was telling this to Rowan earlier, actually.”  
“Get to the point…?”  
He held up the package of beads and shook it about. “We could have an arts and crafts session. Like, we could create bracelets and all that.”  
Jolie paused. “Friendship bracelets?”  
He shrugged. “I guess, if you want to think of it that way. It’ll be fun, though.” He searched around the nearby racks, and picked up a spool of string. “See? We’ve got everything we need right here.”  
The Supermodel nodded. “Yes, I suppose that this’ll be quite the fun activity. Count me in!”  
“Yeah, we could tell everybody a bit later at lunch. This is gonna be great, I just know it.” Jasper stopped. “I mean, maybe people like Marion’s gonna ruin it or spoil it in some way. But who cares about him?”  
“Speaking of lunch…” Jolie gestured to a nearby clock, which read 11:43. “It seems that lunchtime is drawing quite near. Considering how often we get lost in this campsite, I suggest we begin heading to the dining hall.”  
Jasper reshelved the beads and string, then nodded. “Yeah, of course. Let’s get going.”

***

“You are the botanist, correct?”  
Saffron turned up to find the Attorney standing before him. He winced at the sight of her— he regarded Anabel as quite an intimidating individual. Quietly praying that this conversation would go smoothly, he placed his pen between the pages of his notebook to save his place. “Y-yes, that’s right…” he replied softly. Anabel nodded and sat next to him on the log.  
“That’s nice, good for you,” she said. She stared up at the wispy clouds above them and let out a sigh. “This situation is ridiculous,” she muttered. “I honestly cannot tell if this is a prank, or if that Monokuma is lying about the game, or what… I do hope he is. I m-mean, of course he’s lying! There is no way we are trapped in here forever. Of course, our families will get worried. And some of us are quite well known, correct? The world will be furious with our captors!”  
Saffron nodded along with her as he slowly reopened the notebook and returned to writing. She didn’t seem to notice or care at all. It appeared that the Attorney just needed someone to vent to.  
“But… I’ve become so wary of everyone, and it’s really hard to trust these… these strangers,” she continued, her hand on her chin. “Who knows? Perhaps even the most carefree ones, like Blake or Valerie, are planning my demise as we speak.” Suddenly, she turned to him with a sharp glare. “What about you? I can’t even trust a shrinking violet like you, can I? Are you planning to kill someone?!”  
The Botanist was startled by the sudden accusation, snapping the notebook shut again. “N-no, of course not!” he replied quickly, staring up at her with surprise. The Attorney looked at him for a moment, studying his expression. She sighed.  
“Sorry,” she mumbled, returning her gaze to the clouds. “This situation is just so… frightening. I wish it’d all go back to normal.” Saffron only nodded in response before flipping open the notebook again. Anabel slowly turned to him, her eyes narrowing at the strange notebook. “What are you writing?” she asked warily. “Give me that. I want to see what that is.” When the Botanist didn’t respond, she frowned. “I said, give me that.” Swiftly, she snatched the book from his hands and flipped it open to the current page.

_11:45am  
I sat on a log near the mainland bridge to write and draw. Annabelle came to talk to me about the game._

Anabel stared at the page for a bit, even taking time to examine the small landscape that Saffron had doodled at the bottom of the page. “My name is spelled with only one N and L,” she corrected. The Botanist murmured a quiet apology. She began to flip through the first few pages and found that the book also contained a list of everyone in the class, each name accompanied by a small drawing of them. Anabel’s eyes narrowed as she regarded the simple drawing of her face, then huffed and returned the book to Saffron. “A journal, hm?” she said. “Is this for keeping track of your location to provide an alibi for certain time frames in case a murder occurs…?”  
Saffron hesitated. “U-um… I mean, that’s not its intended purpose, it’s just a journal… b-but I think that’d be a good use for it…” Anabel looked down at him and nodded.  
“That’s not a bad idea, especially if you don’t have the greatest memory.”

Then, a twig snapped behind them and the two whipped their heads around to see who had come. They watched as Marion pushed through the thicket holding a tank and a small box. “Oh, hello, Marion,” Anabel said, a pleasant smile gracing her face. “Where might you be off to?” The Puppeteer turned to regard them for a moment, then ignored them as he continued making his way towards the bridge. The Attorney frowned at him, and she got up from the log and began to follow him. “Marion,” she repeated sternly, “where are you going?”  
“That’s none of your business,” he snapped as he made his way down the hill. “Leave me alone.”  
“I think I deserve to know where you’re going,” declared Anabel, continuing to follow him. Marion winced and looked back at her with a glare. Anabel returned an innocent smile. He groaned.  
“Fine, you can see,” he huffed. “Just… if this goes wrong, not a single peep comes out about this, alright?” Satisfied with the answer, Anabel carefully followed him down the hill. Saffron, curious as to where they were going, shoved the journal in his backpack and headed down the hill with them.

The three students eventually made it to the shoreline where the large wooden bridge stood. As expected, there was still a large gate barricading them from crossing. Anabel and Saffron watched in silence as the Puppeteer confidently approached the bridge. Anabel scoffed. “What are you trying to do?” she called. “That bridge is blocked off, there is no point in trying to get it open.” Marion didn’t respond. He uncapped the red tank and began to splash its contents onto the wooden gate. Then, he ripped open the small box he was holding and pulled out a match. Saffron’s eyes widened and he rushed over to where the Puppeteer was standing.  
“W-w-wait!” he cried, grabbing Marion’s arm. Marion looked down at him with disdain, and a bead of sweat formed upon the Botanist’s brow.  
“Let me go,” hissed Marion, pulling his arm away. “Get out of here.” When the shorter boy persisted, Marion swiftly struck the match and held the flame dangerously close. “If you don’t leave me alone, this gate won’t be the only damn thing going up in flames.”  
Saffron shook his head. “N-no…! I j-just think that you might get in trouble if you try to burn up the gate…”  
“It’s for everyone’s good! We’ll get outta here and back to our families safe and sound.” Marion frowned at him. “Why do you care so much? Don’t you people like your families?” The Puppeteer finally broke free from Saffron’s grasp and turned back to the gate. “Now, if you excuse me, I’m going to single handedly bust us all out of here. You can thank me later.”  
“No, Saffron is right. You should stop.” Marion turned to find that Anabel had come to where they were standing. “Monokuma says the only way to access the bridge is if we survive a camp trial. If you burn down the gate, you’d be defying his will. I believe that in a situation like this, we probably shouldn’t anger our captors. After all, they did mention that they had the ability to execute us at will.” Anabel sighed. “And, we do not know if that bridge actually leads to the mainland, do we?”  
“Where else would it lead, if not the mainland?!” snapped Marion, turning back to the bridge.  
Anabel glared at him. “You’re not going to stop, are you?” She shook her head. “Fine. Do whatever you please. Don’t come crying to us if they threaten to execute you.” She turned on her heel and left the two boys to the bridge, returning to the thick forest. Marion watched her go in silence, making sure that she was completely gone.  
“Finally. That hag is such a bother.” He smirked as he approached the bridge, lit match in hand. “Now, let’s light this baby up.”  
Saffron shifted in his place. “Y-you’ll probably get in trouble for that, I’m telling you…”  
Marion let out a sigh. “Whatever, whatever, I don’t care anymore. I’m going to do it.” The Puppeteer approached the gate and slowly moved the match closer to the wood. Saffron tensed up as the match moved closer. This wasn’t right. He’d surely get in trouble for this, right? Then, right before the match got too close to the wood, a small black paw closed around the match’s tip and extinguished it. Marion frowned, then looked down to find Monokuma staring up at him.  
“Upupu… we can’t have that, can we?”  
Marion groaned and discarded the dull match in frustration. He pressed his fingers against his temples. “For crying out loud, this damn bear’s getting on my nerves…”  
Monokuma snatched the box of matches from the Puppeteer. “You can’t just burn down the gate, you cheater! That’s against the rules!”  
Marion folded his arms. “I reviewed the camp rules prior to my endeavors. There’s nothing against the destruction of the bridges here. What’s this about?”  
Monokuma laughed awkwardly. “W-well…! If you’d direct your attention t-to Rule 15… it says I can add new rules whenever I want to!”  
Then, a beeping sound emitted from both Saffron and Marion’s E-Handbooks. The two boys pulled them out, only to find a blinking notification displayed on the screen.

ATTENTION: THE RULES HAVE RECENTLY BEEN UPDATED.  
16\. Locked gates will be closed until a camp trial occurs. Any student that tries to forcibly open these gates will be executed. 

Marion frowned. “This is bullshit.” His eyes narrowed as he read the last sentence. “So what? Are you actually going to execute me? The hell is this?” Saffron felt an urge to say “I told you so”, but he held back. Monokuma cackled.  
“Hmm… y’know what?! It’ll just be plain boring if our first death is for breaking the rules! So I’ll let you off, you lucky child.” The bear turned and began to walk away. “But don’t you dare pull that kinda crap again! If you do, I’ll kill you on the spot! Toodles!”  
The camp counselor left. Marion let out a cry of frustration and kicked the sand. “Piece of shit bear,” he grumbled. “I was so close.” Saffron sighed, adjusted his flower crown, and approached the Puppeteer.  
“L-look… i-it’s almost time for lunch, we should get going…” he said, voice quiet as usual. Marion didn’t turn to face the Botanist. He pressed his fingers against the bridge of his nose. This was ridiculously humiliating. The Puppeteer hoped with all his heart that Saffron wouldn’t say anything about what happened to the rest of the class. But then again, the rest of the class did receive the notification about the new rule. They’d probably bring it up during lunch. He shook his head, choosing to ignore it.  
“Fine,” he muttered, walking away from the other boy. “Not a word comes out about this, or I’ll burn up that stupid fairy crown of yours.” Saffron watched him leave, then sighed. Marion sure was a strange individual. For a moment, the Botanist pondered how Marion really felt about everyone. Sure, he threw insults and nicknames at his peers without a second thought, but did he really mean it? Perhaps he was just trying to think on the brighter side of things, as the optimist he was. Maybe Marion really was just a jerk. With that, Saffron began his walk to the dining hall for lunch.

***

The sun hung high in the sky as the clock struck twelve, marking the beginning of lunchtime. Each student eventually found their way to the dining hall and took a seat at their usual table. Elliot agreed to set out all the plates and glasses for everyone while Rowan went to grab the dishes of food. This time, Monokuma had whipped up some tacos for them. Though they looked absolutely delicious, sometimes a few of the students would wonder how safe the food here really was. Perhaps Monokuma would poison them one day? The rest of the students, on the other hand, cheered, grabbed a few tacos and began stuffing them into their mouths. Once all the food was served, the usual group discussion began.

OLIVE: “These tacos are amazing! Monokuma’s a damn good chef.”  
NOLAN: “Right?! These are so good, I could eat a million more!”  
MARION: “They’re alright— at best.”  
OLIVE: “What are you saying? These are the most delicious tacos I’ve ever had!”  
THOMAS: “Eh.”  
ANABEL: “But who made these…?”  
PENNY: “Why, it was Monokuma who has created these for us! Who else?”  
ANABEL: “Do you really think a two foot tall robotic bear could really create tacos like these? Let alone reach the kitchen counter?”  
VALERIE: “Stools exist, shit for brains.”  
ANABEL: “Don’t call me that. Which one of us passed the bar exam, and which got into the Institute by mere luck?”  
VALERIE: “Well, ah, in my defense, I didn’t even get to attend the Institute because we’re trapped in this crappy murder camp!”  
JASPER: “Valerie, that just made it worse.”  
VALERIE: “Sh-shut the fuck up! You’re all bullies!”  
ROWAN: “Anyway…! What did you all end up doing this morning?”  
POPPY: “I beat Blake in Mortal Kombat!”  
ELLIOT: “I beat him too, but in Argument Armament.”  
BLAKE: “Hey, didn’t we agree to never speak of those losses again? I’ve got a reputation to keep up!”  
ELLIOT: “I never agreed to anything.”  
VALERIE: “Well, I fuckin’ beat Nolan in tennis! This is just the first step to the beginning of my sweet tennis career, bitches! I’ll be the Super Stellar Lucky Student no longer! I’ll be the Super Stellar Tennis Pro, and there’s nothin’ you can do to stop me!”  
THOMAS: “You only scored one point, though…?”  
VALERIE: “Well, yeah, but— HEY! How the fuck do you know that?! Were you spyin’ on us, you fuckin’ perv?!”  
ROWAN: “Valerie, relax. Thomas and I were simply spectating your game. It’s really nothing to get angry over.”  
VALERIE: “Huh?! Where were you guys?”  
ROWAN: “Ah, we were in the bushes…”  
VALERIE: “Well damn, Rowan! At least come out to the court and watch us out in the open like normal ass people! Geez!”  
ROWAN: “Apologies. However, if we came out, you would’ve gotten angry at us, I assure you.”  
VALERIE: “More angry than I am right now?”  
ROWAN: “Mmm… possibly. Thomas’s sports commentary sure was… something.”  
NOLAN: “Huh? You guys commentated our game? Aw, you should’ve come out!”  
CARMEN: “Hey, I was wondering… did anyone else get the notification about the new rule?”  
BLAKE: “There’s a new rule?!”  
CARMEN: “Mhm. Something about forcing open the mainland bridge gate.”  
OLIVE: “The hell? Did someone try to force it open?”  
MARION: “I don’t know. Who’d even be stupid enough to try to force it open? One of you idiots, I’m sure.”  
ANABEL: “Sigh…”  
MARION: “Hey, don’t you literally say the word sigh at me.”  
ROWAN: “So, Marion… what did you do this morning?”  
MARION: “Nothing.”  
SAFFRON: “He tried to— mmph! Mmph!”  
MARION: “Shut it, chicken spice. I tried to do nothing.”  
ROWAN: “Marion.”  
MARION: “What?”  
ROWAN: “Tell us about your morning, would you?”  
MARION: “Well, I just sort of walked around the woods for a bit. It’s very calming, you know.”  
ANABEL: “This ignorant fool tried to burn down the gate to the mainland.”  
POPPY: “What? Did he really?!”  
ANABEL: “Indeed. Saffron and I are eyewitnesses to his attempted crime. So please withdraw your hand from his mouth, there is nothing else to be said.”  
NOLAN: “Such fancy language!”  
ANABEL: “It’s really not.”  
MARION: “Wha—? That’s not fair. I can’t cover Anabel’s mouth, she’s all the way over at the other side of the table.”  
SAFFRON: “Mmph! Mmph mmph mmph.”  
MARION: “Fine, fine. I tried to burn down the gate to the mainland. Call me irresponsible or reckless all you want.”  
VALERIE: “Ooh! So how’d that turn out?”  
MARION: “The damn bear caught me. I really hate that bear, you know.”  
NOLAN: “Same! He’s pawsitively unbearable.”  
MARION: “Shut the hell up.”  
ROWAN: “I do admit, it would’ve been nice if you managed to destroy that gate. After all, that bridge is the only thing separating us and society.”  
ANABEL: “But how do we know for sure that the bridge actually leads to the mainland? In my opinion, it probably won’t. Monokuma said that the only way to return to society is to successfully kill somebody and get away with it. We wouldn’t get to return if we merely survive a class trial, that’s not how I think that works.”  
BLAKE: “I guess we’ll never know…! B-because, y’know, that bridge only opens after a camp trial’s done. And we’re definitely not having any of those.”  
ELLIOT: “Hopefully.”  
SAFFRON: “Ah, if I may interrupt… why couldn’t we just b-build a boat and sail to the mainland?”  
JASPER: “Oh yeah. We forgot to mention that idea earlier, didn’t we?”  
THOMAS: “Build a boat? Out of what?”  
SAFFRON: “Th-that’s the problem…”  
POPPY: “Ooh, yeah! We totally could! Problem is, what if Monokuma catches us? He probably won’t allow it.”  
MONOKUMA: “You’re right! I won’t!”  
OLIVE: “Oh, for fuck’s sake.”  
MONOKUMA: “Yeesh! You guys sure are impatient! First you’ve got puppet boy here trying to burn down the gate, and now you’re all talking about building a boat? Why not just kill someone?! It’s a lot easier! You might get away with it and return to society, and if you don’t, at least your friends will get to see what’s on the other side of that bridge!”  
ROWAN: “Leave. Nobody’s going to kill anyone.”  
MONOKUMA: “Upupu… are you sure about that?”  
ROWAN: “Yes! Definitely!”  
MONOKUMA: “Hmm… what a stubborn bunch you are!”  
ELLIOT: “Stubborn? We’re not stubborn, we’re just not murderous fiends.”  
PENNY: “Exactly! The Great Penelope Claire had a vision, you know! All of us are going to get out of here alive! Plus, we’re gonna beat you up! So you better be prepared, Monostupid!”  
MONOKUMA: “Ouch! That nickname hurt! You’re so mean, Miss Claire!”  
JOLIE: “Monokuma, please leave us be.”  
MONOKUMA: “I can’t! I’m your camp counselor! If I leave you alone, you crazy hormonal teenagers will probably get up to some weird shit that I’ll have to censor out!”  
POPPY: “Ew! What kind of people do you think we are?”  
BLAKE: “I wouldn’t mind if we start getting up to some weird shit.”  
VALERIE: “Argh! Get outta here, you fuckin’ weirdo!”  
BLAKE: “Aww, Val! You just called me cool earlier at breakfast, what happened to that?”  
VALERIE: “I d-didn’t fuckin’ mean that! I just needed someone else in my group, is all!”  
MARION: “You people are insufferable.”  
VALERIE: “We’re not! You just don’t know how to have fun!”  
MARION: “Hey, Monokuma. I’ll gladly kill someone.”  
ROWAN: “What?!”  
MONOKUMA: “Oh, goody! It was getting a bit too chummy in here!”  
MARION: “Mhm. I’m going to kill myself, if you lot keep being so obnoxious.”  
MONOKUMA: “Aww!”  
ROWAN: “Wait, what did you mean when you said that you’d need to censor that out?”  
MONOKUMA: “Eh? It’s just an expression! Don’t read too far into it!”  
JOLIE: “Monokuma, did you just come here to encourage us to kill someone again? Because it’s not happening.”  
MONOKUMA: “Oh, it will! Trust me. You guys just need a little push.”  
ELLIOT: “What do you mean?”  
MONOKUMA: “Simple! You guys need a motive!”  
THOMAS: “A motive? Don’t we already have one? Like, if we kill someone, we’ll return to society. That’s a pretty big motive to me.”  
MONOKUMA: “Well, if the motive isn’t motivating you like a motive is supposed to do, then it’s not working! You’ll need a bigger push!”  
ROWAN: “Oh, no…”  
MONOKUMA: “Listen! You kids can’t live like this forever! This is the Camping Trip of Mutual Killing, not the Camping Trip of Mutual Friendship! So, I’m gonna give you a little motive to move things along!”  
CARMEN: “And… and what would that be?”  
MONOKUMA: “Now, drum roll, please…!”  
ROWAN: “Get to the point.”  
MONOKUMA: “Your first motive’s called… First Blood Perk: Lottery Edition!”  
VALERIE: “The fuck kinda name is that? Sounds stupid.”  
MONOKUMA: “Alright, here’s how it works!”

The bear took out three envelopes, each sealed with a sticker of his face.

MONOKUMA: “Out of you sixteen, three of you’ll receive one of these beauties right here! Inside’s a little ticket that’ll excuse you if you end up committing a murder! So essentially, with one of these envelopes, you’ll be able to commit murder and escape to the mainland! Heck, we won’t even hold a camp trial for you! But that’s only if you have a ticket. If you’re not a ticket-bearer and you kill someone, a camp trial will still be held for your crime.”  
ROWAN: “Please. This won’t convince us to kill anyone.”  
MONOKUMA: “Hmm…? That’s why each of these tickets have an expiration date.”  
OLIVE: “Whaddya mean, ‘expiration date’?!”  
MONOKUMA: “In super duper tiny fine print at the bottom of each ticket, it reads that if you don’t take your chance and kill someone in 48 hours, all the tickets will be rendered void.”  
MARION: “When will these 48 hours begin?”  
MONOKUMA: “Tonight! At midnight! So you’ll have exactly two days to kill someone! Today doesn’t count, though!”  
ANABEL: “This motive is hilariously stupid.”  
MONOKUMA: “Eh? How?”  
ANABEL: “It’s simple. To create trust in the group, the three ticket bearers can just tell everyone they received the ticket, right? That way, the rest of us won’t be all paranoid about who received the tickets.”  
MONOKUMA: “Silly, foolish girl! I’ve thought about that possibility! That’s why none of the ticket bearers are are allowed to reveal themselves during those two days! Or else they’ll be executed!”  
ELLIOT: “How about during the camp trial? Can they reveal themselves then?”  
MONOKUMA: “There’ll be no camp trial then, stupid! And even if there was, then who’d want to reveal themself there anyway? It’ll just draw suspicion!”  
MARION: “Question.”  
MONOKUMA: “What?”  
MARION: “What if the murder occurs over those two days, but the body isn’t discovered until after the time limit’s up?”  
MONOKUMA: “Hmm…! Good question! I needed to clarify that a bit further. If the body isn’t discovered within the two day time limit, a camp trial will still be held. So sad! That’s why you’ve gotta be fast. This is the perfect opportunity for any of you who wouldn’t mind killing but fear the camp trial! Upupupu!”  
SAFFRON: “S-so in two days… one of us might be dead?”  
MONOKUMA: “Hopefully!”  
ROWAN: “Stop it! Even with this new motive, nobody’s going to kill anyone!”  
MONOKUMA: “Upupu… you’re so naive, Rowan. You haven’t even known these people for a day, and yet you’re still putting all your faith in them? Sad.”  
ROWAN: “I’m…”  
MONOKUMA: “Well, that’s all for this motive! To all of you who weren’t listening, I’ll summarize it for you! Three random people within your group of sixteen will receive a ticket that will allow them to get away with murder! If one of these three ticket-bearers kill someone within 48 hours beginning from midnight tonight, a camp trial will not be held for them and they’ll return to society. However, the body must be discovered by three other people within the allotted two days, or else the tickets will be rendered null.”  
OLIVE: “This is bullshit!”  
CARMEN: “I… I…”  
ROWAN: “H-hey… everyone. Stay strong, alright? We’re all going to escape from this place alive.”  
MONOKUMA: “Upupupu… are you sure about that?”  
ROWAN: “Y-yeah…! Look, even Penny said so. And all of Penny’s predictions have been accurate thus far, right?”  
PENNY: “Yes! The Great Penelope Claire is never wrong! And we will all get out of here together! We’re going to fight Monokuma and break out of this murder camp!”  
MONOKUMA: “As if! Anyway, I’ll be off now! The three lucky winners will find their envelope under their bedsheets tonight! Sayonara, suckers!”  
CARMEN: “And… he’s gone.”  
SAFFRON: “I’m scared now…”  
JASPER: “Don’t worry, man. It’ll be alright.”  
POPPY: “What are we gonna do?”  
BLAKE: “J-just, uh, don’t kill each other?”  
ROWAN: “Exactly. Whoever the three ticket bearers end up being, I trust you all completely. Do not give in.”  
THOMAS: “Hey, Penny was saying something about us fighting Monokuma?”  
PENNY: “Yes! I saw it with my magic crystal ball! We’re going to rise up and fight Monokuma!”  
ANABEL: “But Monokuma has the power to execute us. Are we really any match against him?”  
THOMAS: “If we train hard, we can be!”  
JOLIE: “Training?!”  
THOMAS: “Yes! Push ups, sit ups, jumping jacks…”  
JOLIE: “Sounds revolting. Count me out.”  
THOMAS: “Aw, come on. Anyone here willing to train?”  
ROWAN: “Mm, not me. Apologies, but I believe we’ll just get in trouble for trying to fight Monokuma. Violence against the camp counselor is prohibited, remember?”  
THOMAS: “Screw those rules! If we kill him before he can execute us, we’ll be able to break all the rules we want! We can even pursue Saffron and Jasper’s boat idea.”  
OLIVE: “Yeah… yeah! That makes sense! We’ve just gotta kill him first! I’m in!”  
POPPY: “But Monokuma’s a robot! There’s someone controlling him!”  
OLIVE: “Well, then let’s train to fight the asshole controlling him!”  
VALERIE: “Then where’s this asshole mastermind hiding, huh? Tell me that!”  
OLIVE: “We’ll figure that out later. I say we train first, plan later!”  
ANABEL: “That’s on you two, then. Literally nobody else is willing to train.”  
THOMAS: “Aw, c’mon! We’re gonna need more than two people if we want to kill the mastermind.”  
OLIVE: “Anyone?”  
CARMEN: “Mmm…”  
JASPER: “Not really my thing.”  
MARION: “These clothes aren’t fit for exercise.”  
ROWAN: “It’s too risky.”  
ELLIOT: “Do you seriously think a scrawny guy like me can do you any good?”  
SAFFRON: “I’ll do it.”  
JASPER: “Wait, seriously?”  
SAFFRON: “I’ll train! I’ll do it! I really want to help us all get out of here… and if we have to resort to fighting the mastermind, th-then I’ll do it!”  
THOMAS: “Uh… any other takers?”  
SAFFRON: “Wh-what? Is there something wrong?”  
THOMAS: “No offense kid, but you look like you’d lose a fight to a paper bag.”  
OLIVE: “Aw, shut up! That’s exactly why he’s gotta train with us! Saffron, I’m so fucking proud of you for volunteering. Let’s start tonight!”  
SAFFRON: “Th-thank you so much! I’ll work as hard as I can, I promise!”  
MARION: “You people are insane.”  
POPPY: “Hey, uh, has anyone seen Tate?”  
CARMEN: “Now that I think about it, no.”  
ROWAN: “I haven’t seen them since breakfast.”  
BLAKE: “Aw geez! What if they’re fuckin’ dead already?!”  
ROWAN: “Stop it.”  
OLIVE: “I’ll go check up on them, I finished my food a few minutes ago anyway.”  
ELLIOT: “Alright. Let us know.”  
JOLIE: “Wait, before you go.”  
OLIVE: “Hm?”  
JOLIE: “Jasper and I wanted to do something fun for you all tonight.”  
NOLAN: “Something fun? Ooh, what is it?”  
JASPER: “Well, we found some beads and string at the camp store. We were thinking of having a friendship bracelet making session later.”  
MARION: “You’ve got to be kidding me.”  
POPPY: “Aw, c’mon! It’ll be fun!”  
NOLAN: “Yeah, Marion! It’s gonna be super fun! I’m so excited to make a bracelet for my bestie!”  
MARION: “We are not besties.”  
ANABEL: “Hm, sure. I suppose it’ll take our minds off the new motive.”  
THOMAS: “Alright, where’ll this thing be?”  
JOLIE: “The lounge. Definitely the lounge.”  
BLAKE: “Huh? Why the lounge?”  
JOLIE: “It’s the cleanest place in the camp, isn’t that obvious?”  
OLIVE: “Alright, alright. Sounds cool, I’ll be there. Anyway, I’m off to check on Tate.”  
ROWAN: “Oh, Olive?”  
OLIVE: “Huh?”  
ROWAN: “Here. Bring them a taco. If they’re not comfortable coming out to the dining hall, at least make sure they have lunch.”  
OLIVE: “Yeah, alright. See you guys later.”

Olive took the taco from Rowan’s hands, waved a quick goodbye and dashed out of the dining hall in search of Tate. Then, Rowan pushed her empty plate in front of her and cleared her throat.

ROWAN: “Ahem. As your unofficial leader, I’d like to lay down some rules to lower the chances of a murder. If any of you come across Tate or Olive later in the day, please inform them of what I’m about to say.”  
MARION: “Who said you’re the leader? If nobody actually elects you as the leader, that makes you a dictator.”  
JASPER: “Sigh… why are you still talking?”  
MARION: “Because I believe I’ll be a better leader than Rowan will ever be. So, I’ll have to forcibly replace her as the leader for our group’s greater good.”  
JASPER: “But if nobody actually elects you as the leader, that makes you a dictator.”  
CARMEN: “God, who even said we needed a leader in the first place? Why can’t we just do our own thing?”  
ANABEL: “I think a leader in this situation might be quite useful, actually.”  
ELLIOT: “Mhm. I think Rowan’ll be a good leader, from what I know about her so far.”  
ROWAN: “Ah, thank you! Now, as for the rules. Firstly, we’ll have all our meals together— breakfast, lunch and dinner.”  
MARION: “Ugh.”  
ROWAN: “You don’t have to talk to us if you don’t want to. Consider our meetings as a check in of sorts. If we notice someone’s missing from the group, we can send out some search teams to find them. Secondly, I don’t want anyone to be outside during the designated nighttime period.”  
NOLAN: “Aww. You completely ruined my plans for tonight. You’re such a party pooper, Rowan.”  
SAFFRON: “Um… if you d-don’t mind me asking, what were you going to do tonight?”  
NOLAN: “That’s none of your business. A prank isn’t a prank if everyone knows about it, is it?”  
THOMAS: “You were going to play some pranks tonight? What kind of pranks?”  
NOLAN: “What did I just say?”  
PENNY: “But Rowan! That interferes with my nightly routine!”  
ELLIOT: “Nightly routine…?”  
PENNY: “Yes! To recharge my powers and gain further insights into the future, I have to head out at midnight to meditate under the stars!”  
THOMAS: “It interferes with our routine too. We’re gonna be training every night, remember?”  
ROWAN: “Fine. You can head out during nighttime, but as long as you’re with somebody. Don’t stay out for too long.”  
NOLAN: “Okay, mom!”  
VALERIE: “These rules are so fuckin’ boring. What’ll happen if we break ‘em?”  
ROWAN: “Then… hm. I haven’t exactly thought of a suitable punishment yet.”  
NOLAN: “Tree girl’s gonna be our chef, right? Then just refuse to give any rule breakers food! It’s simple!”  
ROWAN: “I am not going to starve anyone.”  
BLAKE: “How about you, uh, do away with the rules as a whole?”  
ROWAN: “But they’re necessary for a murder-free life at this camp!”  
JASPER: “Hmm… maybe just give them a stern talking-to or something. Or have a ‘three strikes, you’re out’ system.”  
ROWAN: “Okay, look. There will be no punishment if you break these rules, but keep in mind that these rules are here for your safety. I still expect you all to come to the dining hall for every meal so we can all eat together.”  
POPPY: “Alright then!”  
JASPER: “Seems fair. Hey, do we have any tacos left?”  
SAFFRON: “Um… no. But you can have mine, if you want. I’m not eating it.”  
POPPY: “Hey! Who ate all the tacos?”  
ANABEL: “We all did.”  
THOMAS: “No, there were a bunch there just a second ago.”  
NOLAN: “The mystery of the disappearing tacos.”  
VALERIE: “So, which one of you greedy asses ate the last few tacos?!”  
CARMEN: “Mmm, I ‘unno.”  
NOLAN: “She says, her mouth stuffed with tacos. We’ve found the culprit. Let’s detain her immediately.”  
CARMEN: “Oh no. I’m under arrest.”  
NOLAN: “You sure are, you sinner. Eighth commandment— thou shall not steal.”  
ANABEL: “Well technically, she didn’t steal them. They were free for everyone.”  
NOLAN: “That doesn’t excuse the fact that she ate twenty!”  
CARMEN: “Hey! I only ate ten.”  
JASPER: “Aww. I was going to have some more.”  
ROWAN: “How many have you eaten?”  
JASPER: “One.”  
BLAKE: “Dude, I ate three in the past five minutes.”  
ANABEL: “Nolan?”  
NOLAN: “Hm?”  
ANABEL: “I’d like to accuse you of taking a surplus of tacos as well.”  
NOLAN: “W-what?! Why me? Didn’t Carmen take them?”  
ANABEL: “Well, she only ate ten. There were roughly fifty tacos on the plate— enough for all of us to have at least three. We’re still missing some, and I do recall you taking the taco plate earlier. Did you think I didn’t notice that?”  
NOLAN: “You can’t prove anything!”  
ANABEL: “A while ago, you said that ‘these tacos are so good, and that you could eat a million more’. Am I correct?”  
NOLAN: “Uh…”  
ANABEL: “Nolan, where’s your plate?”  
NOLAN: “It’s nowhere! I put it away.”  
ANABEL: “You didn’t get up.”  
NOLAN: “I… threw it.”  
BLAKE: “That’s the worst excuse in the history of excuses, yo.”  
NOLAN: “It’s true! Really!”  
ANABEL: “We would’ve heard it.”  
NOLAN: “My plates are silent. They’re polite, and they don’t make a ruckus when they break.”  
JASPER: (“God, what are we even talking about anymore?”)  
SAFFRON: (“I d-don’t know…”)  
JASPER: (“I just wanted a taco. Anabel’s turning this into a full on interrogation.”)  
ANABEL: “Nolan, please show me your plate.”  
NOLAN: “My plate’s broken, remember?”  
ANABEL: “Valerie, you are seated right next to him. Could you take a look at the seat for me?”  
VALERIE: “Sure… holy fuck. He’s got a huge pile of tacos on his plate, we’ve found the goddamn motherload.”  
ANABEL: “Guilty as charged.”  
JASPER: “Hey, give me one.”  
NOLAN: “But they’re mine!”  
THOMAS: “It’s really funny how we’re talking about disappearing tacos to distract ourselves and get our minds off the motive and the fact that one of us might be dead in a few days.”  
MARION: “Right? That’s what I was thinking too!”  
ROWAN: “Gosh, you two are so pessimistic! Lighten up a bit, will you?”  
MARION: “Tch.”  
CARMEN: “Anyway, I’m off. I finished my tacos a few minutes ago.”  
NOLAN: “Your stolen tacos.”  
CARMEN: “You shouldn’t be talking. Anyway, see you all in a bit.”  
THOMAS: “Will you?”  
CARMEN: “Stop that.”  
POPPY: “Man, you’re all acting as if this ‘killing game’ is a big threat!”  
ANABEL: “Maybe because it is?”  
POPPY: “Well, maybe! But this situation’s too weird to be real! Like I was telling Elliot earlier about how maybe we’re just characters in a story, because this killing game thing is like something out of an anime visual novel.”  
ELLIOT: “Oh god.”  
ROWAN: “No, that’s stupid. We’re real— we’re not fictional. This is not to be taken lightly.”  
BLAKE: “Man, dude! We shouldn’t dwell on this for too long, it’s fuckin’ scary. Anyway, I’m out.”

Blake pushed his plate in front of him and got up from the wooden table. He stretched and let out a big yawn as he sauntered out of the dining hall. The rest of the students began to quickly finish what tacos had remained. One by one, the students exited the dining hall, all trying their best to keep their minds off the new motive.

***

This situation was ridiculous. This whole game was like something out of a story. Teenagers trapped in a summer camp and encouraged to murder each other by a robotic bear who appeared out of the campfire…. it couldn’t be real. And yet, it was. Another thing Tate thought was ridiculous was the fact that their peers were taking this so lightly. They headed over to the camp store an hour ago to pick up some reading, only to find Jasper, Saffron and Elliot hanging around the store as well. The Author listened in on their banter, and overheard that Poppy and Blake had been playing video games in the lounge for the past while. On their way back to their cabins, they caught a glimpse of Penny and Carmen talking and laughing as they stumbled through the woods. Tate was shocked at how insouciant their classmates acted in the face of a dangerous situation like this. Weren’t they paranoid that even the kindest people plotted their demise? Weren’t they afraid that their newfound “best friend” would ultimately betray them? Weren’t they be wary about each other in fear that they might be the liar, or worse the mole? There were so many reasons to be afraid, but most of these people just dismissed the situation at hand.

The Author found it hard to believe that people like Nolan could even think of organizing a campfire night in a place like this. Of course, when he proposed the idea, Tate had just nodded on. They weren’t very enthusiastic about participating in such an event— they were never really enthusiastic about participating in any social event, really. Instead of heading out and bonding with their peers, the Author had been going through a stack of books for the past few hours. They had just finished a book regarding plant life and botany, and had continued on to read a book describing zoology. Next up in the pile was a series of murder mystery novels. Tate assumed that this specific genre was placed in the shop to give the students some “inspiration” to commit their own crimes. That really was a horrifying thought.

Tate’s gaze wandered away from the text and turned to the window of their cabin. They couldn’t see much outside— just the campfire in the distance and the logs surrounding it. When the bear had appeared out of the flames last evening, Tate was astounded. They were desperately trying to figure out how exactly that happened. The strange occurrence went against science. If it was a magic trick, Tate couldn’t wrap their mind around it. The fire got the Author thinking about the camp counselor. Monokuma was definitely a robot, that’s for sure. He was likely being controlled by some outside force, and Tate was determined to figure out who. Aside from the biology books and murder mystery novels, Tate had their captors on their mind for the whole morning. People didn’t build robots like Monokuma for kicks— there had to be some powerful organization behind this. They also wondered if their sudden disappearance had went unnoticed in society. But that was impossible. Tate knew that some of their peers were ridiculously famous, they’ve heard of some of them before. Blake was a popular EDM artist, Jolie was a world famous fashion icon, and Poppy was a distinguished engineer who could build almost anything. There was no way their disappearance would just be ignored! There had to be search teams looking for them! News reporters covering the topic! Riots beginning over these sixteen kidnapped child prodigies! There just had to be!

The Author continued to ponder their situation in silence. The only sound was the ticking of the clock that rested above the dresser. Tate blinked, snapping them out of their trance. Turning to the clock, their eyes widened as they saw that it was already 12:23. They were late for lunch! They shoved a bookmark into the pages of the book and returned it to the pile. Tate turned back to the window only to find a face staring back at them. They let out a cry of shock and clutched their coat as they backed up to the wall. The girl— Olive, was it?— rapped loudly on the window.  
“Hey! Tate!” The Archer held up a messy taco. “I brought you lunch! Open up the window!”  
Tate’s eyes narrowed at the girl as they approached the window. Pulling it open, they took the taco and glared at her. “Thanks.” They took a bite of it, and found that it was surprisingly good. Their eyes shot wide open as they realized that they were being too trusting of Olive. What if the taco had been laced with poison? It’d be absolutely terrible to be the first victim to the killing game! They stared up at the Archer warily, who smiled back.  
“What’s with the face? You think I poisoned it or something?”  
Tate hesitated. “Hm… yeah. But I… I don’t feel anything wrong, so I suppose you’re being genuine.”  
Olive sighed as the Author took another reluctant bite of the taco. “Of course I’m being genuine,” she said. “You’re being a bit too paranoid, if you ask me.”  
“Paranoid?”  
“Yes! Nobody’s seen you all morning! And judging by that stack of books on your nightstand, you’re just planning to lock yourself in here! Are you afraid of us or something?” Tate shifted in their place and glanced back to their pile of unread books.  
“No, I’m just… it’s nothing, alright?”  
Olive frowned. “No. You’re scared, I can tell. You didn’t even come to lunch today because you were afraid of us!”  
“I just lost track of time—”  
“I’m willing to bet that you didn’t! So just… let me in, alright? I’ll try to help you.”  
Tate stared at her for a moment. Could they really trust Olive? She could be coming in here to kill them. They knew that if they tried to refuse help, Olive would just insist further. “Fine.” Tate headed over to the cabin door and hesitantly unlocked it. Almost immediately afterwards, the Archer burst into the room.  
“Ahh. There we go!” She stretched a bit and gave a smile to the Author. “You see, that’s step number one to becoming a more trusting person.”  
“Mmm, okay.” Tate immediately returned to their bed and flipped open the heavy zoology book. “So, uh, did I miss anything important at lunch?”  
Olive turned to the Author slowly, contemplating whether or not they should let them know about the lottery. They were definitely terrified of the game, considering that they didn’t trust the others enough to even head out for lunch. Knowing about the motive would likely drive them further into isolation from the group. Ignorance was bliss, after all. “No. Nothing particularly important happened. Blake sucks at video games, Valerie wants to be a tennis star, Saffron, Thomas and I are going to train to fight Monokuma… you didn’t miss much, don’t worry.”  
Tate raised their eyebrow at the last one. “You’re going to fight Monokuma?”  
“I mean, we’re not going to fight the robot itself. We’re going to find and kill the mastermind so we can end this killing game before anyone gets hurt!” The Author placed a bookmark between the pages and looked up at the Archer.  
“That’s very… initiative of you.” They got up and placed the book on the pile. “But if I may ask, how are you going to find the mastermind?”  
Olive sighed. “That’s the thing. I’m not even sure how we’re going to pull this off. I mean, we’ve got no leads as to who’s controlling this game!”  
Tate got up and began pacing around the cabin. “One thing’s for sure— it’s not just one person behind this.” The Archer tilted their head as the Author continued. “Monokuma seems to be rather advanced. People don’t just build these things for fun. Plus, did you see the security cameras and monitors everywhere?” Tate gestured to the one mounted on their wall, always watching. On their first night, they found the cameras rather unsettling— who was monitoring them? “One person couldn't have set this all up by themselves. So if you’re looking to fight the mastermind, you’re looking to fight an immensely powerful evil organization.”  
“Well, if that’s the case, we’ll just have to train harder!”  
Tate shook their head. “No, it’s dangerous and reckless.”  
“But if we take them out, we can end the game!” Olive paused. “If this game is actually a real thing, I mean. Nobody has died yet, so I’m praying that we’ll all get out of here alive.”  
“Hopefully.” Tate took a last bite of the taco. “Anyway, I think I’m going to take a nap.” Olive nodded, then went for the door.  
“Yeah, sure. Relax a bit, get your mind off things. I’ll leave you be.” She twisted the knob and pulled the door open. “I’ll see you then. Oh, by the way— Jasper and Jolie are doing a friendship bracelet thing this evening at the lounge.”  
“Is it mandatory?”  
Olive frowned at them. “Technically, no. But I think it’d be a great way to get to know some of the others. You should come, it’ll be fun!”  
“I’ll think about it.”  
Olive smiled. “Alright! I’ll see you then, hopefully. I’ll just get out of your way now. See ya!” With that, the Archer pulled the door open again and left Tate to their own thoughts.  
Tate pulled open the closet and changed into the surprisingly comfy pajamas they were provided with. They pulled the covers over themself, and sighed. Maybe Olive was right. They should be more friendly with others. They sighed as they shifted in the bed. Would trusting others lead to their downfall? The Author was unsure. But they decided to take Olive’s advice. They’d go to the bracelet making session, they were sure of it. It would be a good way to start forming friendships with the others. These thoughts occupied the Author’s mind as they slowly drifted off to sleep.


	6. Chapter 1: Naivete and Paranoia (Daily Life III)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Accidental misgendering, transphobic slur.

That evening, Jolie and Jasper began to prepare for their bracelet making session. The Supermodel had headed to the camp store to gather all the materials they’d need. Jolie was in awe of the variety of jewelry making materials that were available in the camp store. The place had a variety of beads in a ton of different colors and shades— a few of these colors included red, blue, yellow and green. The spools of string shared the same variety of colors. The store also featured even shinier threads in gleaming golds and silvers, as well as a spool of crystal clear thread that seemed almost invisible. There were even fake rubies, sapphires, emeralds, diamonds and pearls. Jasper set out all the materials in small plastic bowls while Jolie collected sixteen bean bags from around the lounge and arranged them around the long table in the middle of the room.  
Soon after the two were done setting up, the echoes of footsteps sounded from the staircase. Jolie turned to find that Tate and Olive had arrived and gave them a welcoming smile. The Author seemed a bit afraid as they entered the room— Jolie assumed it was because Tate had never been to the lounge before. She was startled too when she saw the fountain splitting and the staircase revealing itself for the first time. She couldn’t help but wonder why the lounge was hidden this way and why it looked so different from the rest of the camp. But Jolie wasn’t one to dwell on these kinds of things for too long. The lounge was clean and comfortable, and that was all that mattered to her.  
“Welcome!” she said cheerfully, gesturing to the table. “Please, take a seat. The others shall be here soon, but you may begin beading if you’d like.”  
Tate pressed their lips into an awkward smile. “Thanks.” They went to sit on a purple beanbag, and Olive flopped down into the green one next to them. They leaned over and picked up the spool of string and the pliers, then carefully measured the length around their wrist and cut the thread accordingly. “So, do we just… start making them?”  
Jasper nodded. “Yeah, pretty much.”  
The Author leaned over to grab a handful of the colorful beads. There sure was a large variety of colors to work with. They saw that a few of them had letters imprinted on them, so they began to search the pile for the letters of their name. An awkward silence hung in the air as the four students quietly began making their bracelets. Tate looked over and saw that Olive had already found the letters in her name and was using them in her creation.  
“Check it out,” Olive said suddenly, holding up a small string of beads attached to a metal ring. “It’s a keychain. You didn’t say we had to make a bracelet specifically, right?”  
Jolie shook her head. “No, you can make anything you want. This night is going to be about fun and creativity!” She chuckled. “As for myself, I’m going to be creating a beautiful necklace with these fake diamonds.”  
“Diamonds are cool,” Jasper said absentmindedly, neglecting to look up from his own necklace in his lap.  
Jolie leaned over to see that the boy was working hard on an intricate necklace design made from the fake rubies. Her eyes widened at his creation. “You made that just now?”  
Jasper looked up. “Oh, it’s not done,” he said. “I’m just working on the general design.”  
Olive looked over at Jasper’s necklace. “Damn,” she muttered. “Better than anything I could do. Makes sense though, considering your talent.”

The four continued in relative silence for the next couple of minutes. Eventually, the rest of the class filed into the lounge. After a warm welcome from Jolie, the students all got to work on their own creations. The Supermodel herself began work on her diamond necklace. She felt a bit bad for her choice of craft after seeing how creative her classmates were getting with their own projects (Valerie had been creating a tiara out of emeralds that Jolie thought looked absolutely stunning), but she knew not to be jealous. She turned her focus to twisting the wires into a beautiful necklace design. This was surprisingly difficult, and she silently wondered how much time Jasper must have spent working on jewelry like these to be able to create them so effortlessly.

“I’m finished!” exclaimed Nolan, proudly holding a necklace in his hands. The necklace was long and gaudy, a particularly dirty fake diamond hanging from the end of it. He hadn’t hesitated to use all the colors of beads available, making the necklace look like an absolute abomination.  
Jasper winced at the sight of it. “Sorry, what is that?” he asked slowly. Nolan beamed at him.  
“It’s my necklace! My beautiful, stunning necklace! Are you blind?”  
The Jeweler tilted his head. “That’s supposed to be a necklace?”  
The Equestrian fumed. “You’re so mean, Jaspy! Not all of us have jewelry making skills like you!” He began to sniffle. “You’re making me cry! I’m tearing up here!”  
Valerie looked up from her emerald tiara and snickered. “Yeah, Jasper!” she cried. “You’re such a bully. Say sorry!”  
Jasper shook his head and returned to his work. He found the Equestrian plain annoying and impossible to argue with. He didn’t like to waste his time arguing with these kinds of people, so he decided to save his breath. Carefully using the pliers to bend the wires of his own necklace, he took the glue gun and slowly glued a fake, teardrop-shaped ruby onto it.  
Jolie gushed over Jasper’s work. She thought that his creations were absolutely mesmerizing. The Supermodel had been watching him work on the necklace for the past few minutes, her unfinished diamond necklace sitting in her lap. She looked up to the rest of the group and saw that everyone was happily chattering away, quickly becoming good friends. Jolie smiled at this. What a wonderful sight. However, she found it unfortunate that Marion, Penny and Elliot had ceased to make an appearance, but she knew that it was their choice. But aside from that, she was glad that her little event was going smoothly. She rose from her beanbag and began walking around the room, observing her classmates’ creations. She stopped to peer at a peculiar diamond ring that Blake was meticulously working on.  
“That looks wonderful, Blake,” she said with a smile. The DJ looked up in surprise, but his expression soon returned to a smirk.  
“Thanks, dudette. I’m pretty dang proud of this too.” He grabbed the glue gun and a fake diamond and continued to glue the fake gem on. “After all, it’s gotta be perfect, y’know?”  
Jolie tilted her head. “Perfect…?” She laughed. “Blake, darling, nothing has to be perfect. This is about having fun! And I must say, your ring looks perfect enough already.”  
Blake flushed and gave an awkward grin to the Supermodel. “Uh, thanks, yo! Really means a lot to a jewelry making amateur such as I. But… this ring’s gotta be perfectly perfect, dudette.” His eyes darted across the room as if checking to see if someone was watching, then he added under his breath, “It’s gotta be. It’s for a girl I like, y’know?”  
Jolie’s eyes widened. “Oh? A girl you like?”  
“K-keep it down, will you? She’ll hear!”  
“Well, it must be a very special girl, then. You’ve been, er, hitting on all the girls here, so you must really have your eyes for someone special if you’d go so far as to make the perfect diamond ring for her.”  
“Heh, of course.” He picked out another diamond from the bowl. “Diamonds are a girl’s best friend, after all.”  
Jolie crouched down to him. “So who’s this lucky lady, hmm…?”  
“Well, hah, you and her and everyone else in this room’s gonna find out in just a second. I’m almost done this ring.” With that, he glued the final diamond onto the top of the ring. He smiled at it proudly, then took a deep breath. “Alright, yo. Let’s get this over with.”  
Blake got up from his seat and slowly made his way over to the other side of the table. Jolie watched him, a slight feeling of anticipated second-hand embarrassment bubbling up inside her. She had a bad feeling about this.  
Then, the DJ finally spoke. “So, uh, Saffron, was it?” The Botanist looked up from a small keychain he was working on, his eyebrows raised. “I… heh, I wanted to confess something to you.”  
Jolie groaned and buried her head into her arms. She could not handle second-hand embarrassment. It was too much for her. Her predictions were correct— this would end just horribly. By now, all eyes were on Blake in anticipation. Jolie couldn’t bear to watch.  
“So, y’know, I really think you’re cool." He gave a cheeky smile to the confused boy, then revealed the small diamond ring. “Wanna go out after this, babe?”  
A tense silence held in the room. Jolie could see Nolan snickering and nudging Valerie beside him, who too was on the verge of cracking up. Saffron stared at the diamond ring held out in front of him, his face bright red. After a few more moments of silence, Saffron finally spoke.  
“I… th-this has n-never happened to me before,” he said slowly. “And… o-oh no, this is going to come out sounding really aw-awkward.” He sighed and looked away. “I’m so sorry, Blake. I d-don’t like you in that way… I just don’t feel like you’re my type, you know? Your personality’s just not very… um, appealing to me. Th-this is so weird, oh goodness…”  
Blake’s eyes widened, and he regretfully withdrew the ring. “Sorry, babe. I understand. Might be a bit too early for a weird love confession, eh? I’m sorry, girl.”  
Saffron perked up at the last word. “Wait, girl?”

Nolan couldn’t take it anymore. The Equestrian burst out in howling laughter, the sudden loudness startling a few people in the room. “He’s— you think he’s a—BAHAHAHA!”  
Blake turned to him. “What? She’s a what?”  
Nolan could barely contain his laughter enough to create coherent sentences. He tried, but he could barely say anything without bursting into laughter again. Valerie stepped in. “You mean a fuckin’ he? Did you seriously think he was a girl?”  
Blake’s jaw dropped. “W-wait… huh? What? She—- he’s a he?”  
Jasper sighed. “Yeah, bud. Need your eyes checked?”  
“Even I knew he was a boy,” mumbled Tate. “And I hardly know any of your names.”  
Blake took a look at his former love interest, eyes wide. “B-but… you’re kidding me, yo! Sh— he’s got like, long hair and a flower crown! That name’s pretty girly too, so what gives?” His shoulders slumped and he sighed. “Saffron, man, you’re a cool person, and I’d totally date you if you were a girl. But you’re like some kinda living anime trap, yo.”  
Carmen groaned. “Can you not call people that? A trap, I mean. It’s kinda rude.”  
“Sorry, dudette,” said Blake. “And, uh, sorry, Saffron. That was a mistake on my part.”  
“I-it’s okay…” Saffron mumbled. “I m-mean, people do mistake me for a girl very often. I’ve been considering, um, c-cutting my hair because of it.”  
Jasper shook his head and returned to his work. “Man, you don’t have to do anything. If someone thinks you’re a girl, it’s their fault.”  
“Oh god, I can’t imagine you with short hair,” chuckled Olive. “That’s just not right.”  
Blake tilted his head down in shame. “Alright, yo. Let’s just… not speak of this again, alright dude?” He returned to his beanbag and flopped back down. “Life is so difficult, y’know?”  
Jolie bit her lip. “Blake, dearie… perhaps you should slow down a bit with the whole, er, flirting thing. We’ve only been in this camp for a few days, after all.”  
The DJ only shook his head in response. “I know, I know… it’s just that, like, we’re gonna be here forever, yo. I’ve got a pretty limited pool of potential partners here.”  
“That’s not a guarantee. We’ll get out of here eventually.”  
“Yeah, okay, but what if we don’t?” Blake fiddled with the diamond ring. “Are we gonna be here ‘til we grow old? Are we gonna have to start families and shit when we’re older? How’s this gonna work?”  
“You shouldn’t be thinking about those kinds of things yet.” She shook her head and placed a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Blake, darling, you’re thinking too far ahead. Let’s just try to enjoy it here, okay? And even if Monokuma is really intending to trap us here forever, surely someone will come for help.” She smiled. “I mean, a lot of us are famous, aren’t we? The world wouldn’t ignore us. They can’t ignore us. They’ll come looking.”  
Blake smiled back at her. “Yeah… you’re right.” He chuckled and shoved the ring in his pocket. “Man, I was stressing myself out there, yo! Heh, what was I thinking? We’ll totally get outta here before we grow old!”  
Jolie nodded and withdrew her hand from his shoulder. “That’s the spirit, see? Just live in the moment. Stop thinking about the future for now. As you put it yesterday, let’s look at the big picture here. Sixteen, talented teenagers. No more responsibilities, no more exams, no more adults telling us what to do! What could possibly top all this free time in this camp?” She giggled. “You see, this camp isn’t too bad.” Her expression quickly faltered. “Save for the dirt and grime and the fact that we have to wear these outfits for the rest of our lives, I mean.”  
Blake laughed. “Yep! God, I have to wear this shitty outfit for the rest of my life, right? What was I thinking? This is a fashion disaster!”  
“Oh, so you’re self aware!” Jolie shook her head. “No offense, dear, but your outfit is delusional.”  
“Haha, none taken, dudette! The first thing I’m doing when we get outta here is dumping this shit in the trash.”  
Jolie gave him a small smile and nodded. “Definitely, please do that. And,” she lowered her voice, “try to keep out the negative thoughts about the future, okay? We won’t be here forever. And, er, try to stop thinking about the whole family thing. It’s rather disturbing.”  
“Alright, got it! Thanks, Jolie!”

Jasper suddenly cleared his throat. “Everyone, I’d like to call your attention to the seventeenth student of this class,” he announced.  
Valerie only tilted her head. “The fuck are you talking about?”  
The Jeweler smiled and slowly raised a funny looking rock with googly eyes sloppily pasted on. “Behold,” he said, holding the object high. “My new pet rock.”  
Thomas smirked. “Oh, sweet. What’s its name?”  
“Hm? I haven’t decided yet.” Jasper placed the rock down on the table and leaned back in his beanbag. “I’m thinking of something along the lines of Rocky or Mr. Pebble, but it just doesn’t seem right, y’know? I’m open for suggestions.”  
Tate stared at him, slightly amused. “I don’t think it matters too much. Where’d you even get that rock, anyway?”  
Jasper shrugged. “Pocketed it when we woke up in here. When Jolie went out to grab supplies, I asked her to get me some googly eyes too. So now, we’ve got this masterpiece.”  
“Mmm. Okay.” Tate returned to their string of beads. “That’s, uh, pretty cool. I guess.”  
Poppy beamed. “If you’re looking for name suggestions, leave it to me!” She placed a hand on her chin. “Hmm… how about Roxanne? Or Roxy as a nickname?”  
“Roxy’s good. But Sir Stoneface would be better.” added Olive.  
Rowan shook her head. “No, he should go for the most generic name ever. Craig.”  
Poppy thought for a moment, then clasped her hands together. “Ooh! Go for Dwayne. That’s the perfect rock name.”  
Anabel rolled her eyes. “I can’t believe we’re discussing this,” she muttered. “Rocks don’t need names. Keeping a pet rock’s idiotic and a waste of time.”  
“Yeah, but keeping a pet rock is also an emotionally fulfilling and utterly amazing experience that everyone must try before they die,” said Jasper without missing a beat. Anabel raised an eyebrow, mumbled something about how foolish her classmates were and returned to work on her own jewelry.  
“Anyway,” said Jasper, raising up the rock once again. “Poppy wins. His name is Dwayne.”  
Poppy pumped her fist in the air and smiled again. “You’re welcome!” she exclaimed. “It’s my honor to bestow such a lovely name upon your pet rock. Welcome to the class, Dwayne!” It took all of Anabel’s strength not to comment on the immaturity of her classmates. Instead, she took a deep breath, got up, and walked out of the lounge without another word.  
“Hm,” said Jolie. “I guess Anabel’s going to sleep.”  
Blake let out a long yawn. “Aww man, I’m getting tired too. Let’s finish this up now.” A round of nods and agreements went around the room, and soon enough everyone was helping to clean up the lounge. After she wiped the table free of discarded string and glue, Poppy stood and cleared her throat.

“Excuse me, everyone!” Most of the students ceased their work and turned their attention to Poppy. She gave them all a big smile. “I made a little something for each of you! I hope you like them!” With that, she scattered fifteen brightly colored bracelets on the table. Saffron picked one up and inspected it, only to find that his name in beads was spelled out in the middle.  
“They’re… friendship bracelets?” he asked, slipping it on his wrist.  
Poppy nodded. “Yep! I made one for each of you! It’s all customized, with your name on it and everything.”  
Rowan held her bracelet to the light. “Poppy, these are amazing. Thank you.”  
“You’re welcome! I’m very glad you liked them.”  
Thomas smiled. “Man, this night has been fun. It’s so fun that sometimes, I forget that we’re in a killing game.”  
Carmen turned around to glare at him. “God, did you have to remind us? It’s like you always want to darken the mood.”  
“Well, I’m just stating the truth!” retorted Thomas. “Just reminding everyone not to get too comfy. This game’s still a thing. All we can do is hope that nobody dies, right?”  
Rowan shook her head and stepped forward. “No, that’s not all. We can hide the weapons, enforce rules and have a plan if anything bad happens. I assure you, I will not allow anybody to die under my command. I’m your, uh, unofficial leader, after all.”  
Thomas shrugged. “Alright, I guess the lady’s right. I’ll stop being so negative, alright?” He put his hands up and backed off. “Nope. Nuh-uh. No more negativity from this guy.”  
“Right.”

About ten minutes later, the lounge was as spick and span as how they found it on the first day. Jolie dismissed everybody and wished them a goodnight. She made sure that everybody got to their cabins safely, save for Saffron, Olive and Thomas, who were going to begin training that night. On her way to her cabin, she tilted her wrist and let the beads on Poppy’s friendship bracelet roll around. Not even a week in this camp, and she had already made friends. It was a strange thing to be thankful for, but Jolie was glad that her classmates were treating her like a regular student instead of an intimidating worldwide fashion icon. While she had to admit that she enjoyed speaking like royalty and showing off her wardrobe, she also wanted a chance to be a normal student like everyone else. Her newfound friends were giving her that chance. She smiled softly at the bracelet before unlocking her cabin door and heading in for the night.

 

***

Thomas rested his head on a log, staring up at the stars. Olive sat beside him, tying her long black hair into a high ponytail. Nighttime had begun about fifteen minutes before, and the two had been waiting for their last member to join them for the training session. The Lacrosse Player let out a large groan and turned to Olive. “Can we start already?” he moaned. “I’m pretty sure that this candy-assed weakling won’t even show up.”  
“Aw, don’t call him that. You’re so mean to him.”  
“I never said anything mean to him!” retorted Thomas. “I speak the truth. That kid’s never gonna man up, and this training session will only prove that.” He chuckled, and returned his gaze to the night sky. “Watch. He probably chickened out.”  
Olive made a face at him. “You talked shit about him to Poppy, she was telling me about it.”  
The Lacrosse Player looked down at her in bewilderment. “The hell? I never did that.”  
“Said that you were bettin’ that he’d die quick in this death game. Called him a walkin’ target. Penny and Elliot, too. That’s pretty mean, if you ask me. You should apologize to all three of ‘em.” Thomas looked as if he was going to say something, but he held back and gazed at the cabins in the distance.  
“Whatever, it’s in the past now.” He gestured at the cabins. “Look. You see his cabin? The lights are off. The kid probably went to sleep.” Thomas got up from the grass and stretched his arms out. “Let’s start, okay? There’s no point in wasting time waiting for a pansy like him.”  
The Archer grimaced at him. “You better not call him names like that when he gets here, you ass.”  
“I’m sorry, alright?” Thomas shook his head. “I just really want to get us out of here, and having a weaker person on the team’s only gonna hinder our progress.”  
“Well, we can help him!” retorted Olive. “He won’t be weak anymore if he joins in, right?”  
“No, listen.” Thomas sighed. “Growing up, I learned that if you want to make a difference and get yourself known, you’ve gotta be strong. Emotionally and physically, I mean.”  
“What do you mean?”  
He shifted in his place. “Man, I ‘unno. When I was a kid, my family didn’t really have a bunch of cash, alright? We struggled a lot. Was unfortunate. But while my siblings were working hard at school and all that crap, I was working hard on lacrosse practice. And sure, people doubted me. Called it a waste of time compared to people like… like lawyers and engineers and shit. But look who’s laughing now! I’m the damn Super Stellar Lacrosse Player! If I had just focused on becoming doctors and teachers like my siblings did, I wouldn’t have gotten anywhere! I had to keep working hard on my own thing, and the whole experience made me strong.”  
Olive raised an eyebrow. “So you admit that you were weak before, but since you worked hard you’ve become strong? Isn’t that a bit hypocritical?”  
“No, no! I was born with talent, y’hear? I was always the strongest kid on the playground. I had to persevere through all this difficulty to help my family. That took me years.” He looked towards the cabins. “Saffron, on the other hand… we don’t have time to help someone like him. I say we just start without him. As I said before, the lights in his cabin are out. He’s probably asleep. And if he ends up coming, then I guess you’ll get to see firsthand how much of a failure he’ll be at this training thing.”

Olive turned to stare at the cabins as well. Indeed, Saffron’s cabin was dark. If he had gone to sleep, it would be rude to wake him up if he didn’t want to train. “Fine.” She got up from the log and turned to face Thomas. “We can start without him.”  
“Start without who?”  
Olive’s heart jumped at the new voice, and she turned to find Saffron standing there. The Botanist had tied his green cardigan around his waist, leaving only the white dress shirt underneath. He had pulled his long hair into a small ponytail, and Thomas silently thought that he looked more feminine than ever before because of it. The Lacrosse Player grit his teeth. “Hi,” he said, hardly any emotion in his voice. “Welcome to fight club.” He punched his fist into his palm and stared down at the smaller boy with a toothy grin. “Your first test is to fight me, so let’s get this over with.” Upon hearing this, Olive rolled her eyes and swiftly jabbed him in the stomach. The Lacrosse Player’s eyes shot wide open as he bent over, squealing in pain.  
“Don’t fuckin’ listen to him,” sighed Olive. “Nobody’s fightin’ anyone. We’re just gonna do some basic exercises. Push ups, pull ups, jumpin’ jacks, the works.” She chuckled. “This is gonna be fun, don’t worry about anything.”  
Saffron smiled. “I p-promise I won’t let you down!” He began digging in his backpack. “Apologies for being late, b-by the way…” He pulled out three water bottles and passed them one each. “I was getting drinks at the camp store, and I got a bit lost… I’m really sorry.”  
“No worries,” said Olive. “Everyone’s getting lost in this damn camp.” She took a deep breath. “Alright! Let’s get this started!”

Thomas cracked his knuckles and stepped forward. “I say we begin with some good ‘ol sit ups,” he declared. “Are we good for a hundred of ‘em?”  
Saffron’s eyes widened. “A hundred?!” he asked, throwing his backpack down near the logs. “Isn’t th-that… a bit much? Um… I th-think we should… we should start with a more achievable goal.” The Lacrosse Player took a single look at the quivering boy and let out a big laugh.  
“Kid, you’ve got a long way to go. A hundred’s nothing!”  
The Archer rolled her eyes at Thomas and immediately laid down on the grassy clearing, her legs bent and her hands clasped together behind her head. Saffron tried to imitate her position, but was obviously struggling. He couldn’t quite manage to do the sit-ups as fast as Olive did, and Thomas’s snickering wasn’t helping.  
“And… done!” A bit later, Olive sprang back up and brushed the grass off her pants. “That’s one hundred sit-ups. What’s next?” Thomas stopped, gasping for air and slowly rose.  
“Yeah, good job, whatever…” He wiped a bead of sweat off his forehead. “Anybody could look good when they’re beside flower boy here.” Saffron had given up after a few sit-ups, and was now breathing heavily while what looked like attempting to drown himself in water.  
“J-just… give me a s-second…” He collapsed on the uneven ground. “D-don’t wait… f-for me…” The Botanist curled up into a ball and nearly fell asleep as Thomas snickered under his breath.  
“Don’t laugh at him! How many sit-ups did you do, huh?” Olive flopped down and crossed her legs. “Besides, he’s trying his best… right?” She glanced uncertainly at the small boy. He had given up in the first minute, but had seemed to eager to join them in training. Perhaps she could think of a easier way for him to get fit?  
“Ha! For your information, I did one hundred and fifty sit-ups,” boasted Thomas.  
The Archer sighed and knelt down to grab her water bottle, only to discover Saffron had taken her share as well. The boy drained the bottle and gasped. Slowly, he rose from the ground and placed the empty water bottles near a log.  
“I’m so sorry…” he mumbled. “I must not be good enough for this.”  
Olive frowned at him. “What? You tried your best. I know you can do it! We’ve just gotta keep training more.”  
Saffron looked up at her, uncertainty in his eyes. “N-no… you don’t have to act so nice to me.” He shook his head and picked up his backpack. “I shouldn’t have volunteered… th-that was a mistake on my part. Sorry.” Olive patted his shoulder encouragingly.  
“No, stop,” she said. “I believe in you, okay? You’ll get better if you just keep your hopes up and work hard.”  
Saffron tilted his head and slowly put the backpack back down. “Keep my… hopes up?” He shook his head. “But I’m a hopeless case! L-look, I can’t even do the hundred sit ups like you guys did!”  
Olive sighed. “None of us started out doing a hundred sit ups. That’s not how it works. Hell, I started out as weak as you! And I’m sure that Thomas did too.” Thomas scoffed at this, but Olive ignored him. “Look, how about we just stretch first instead? We can start with, uh… balancing on one leg. Balance is important for training.” She lifted one foot up behind her and held it in her hand, staying completely still with her eyes closed. Thomas, was far too bulky to balance like Olive and Saffron couldn’t stop wobbling.  
“U-um, Olive, why don’t we just, ah… talk… for a minute?” Saffron placed his foot down and balanced himself. “It-it’s our break.”  
The Archer sighed. “Okay, what do you want to talk about?”  
Thomas spoke up. “Olive, look. All this balancin’ ain’t gonna get us nowhere! We need to take action! Figure out who the true mastermind is! That’s why we’re training, right? To get fit and fight them!”  
The Archer began pacing around. “Well, Tate said that if we want to fight Monokuma, we’d be up against a giant evil organization,” said Olive. She stopped and turned to her teammates with a grin on her face. “That’s why we’ve gotta get super strong! So we can rush in there, beat ‘em up and save all our friends! We’ve gotta start small. Y’never know, maybe balancing’ll be a big help later.”  
“I-i-if I may interrupt…” mumbled Saffron, voice barely over a whisper. He looked up at her. “I d-don’t think we can just rush into Monokuma’s lair and kill the mastermind right there. We might need a plan.” He placed a hand to his forehead. “Plus, we have no idea where his lair even is!”  
“The squirt’s right,” said Thomas, stepping forward. “We don’t have a game plan. We don’t have a clue who’s controlling this thing. We don’t know where the lair is.” He put a hand to his chin. “But… if I’d have to foster a guess, I’d say that lounge.”  
Olive cocked her head to the side. “The lounge? The arcade place under the reception office, you mean?”  
“Yep, the lounge. Doesn’t it seem weird to you guys that you’ve gotta get in with a password? Why not just have it open? Plus, Monokuma was pissed when we managed to get in. The place is fishy as shit.”  
Olive nodded along. “Yeah, yeah… it’s weird.” She sighed. “But there’s nothin’ more to investigate there. Just a bunch of arcade machines and beanbags. Oh, and that weird laptop, but nobody’s been able to get that working.”  
Thomas sighed. “It’s frustrating as hell. There’s something weird going on at that place, but no way to prove it. Hey, what time is it?” He picked up his E-Handbook and clicked it on. The three had been out for about half an hour now, and the Lacrosse Player found that his eyes were already heavy. “Ah, fuck it. I’m heading in for the night.” He picked up his things and turned to his companions. “Tomorrow night, we’re gonna formulate a plan that goes beyond running in there and punching shit, alright? We’ve gotta check out that lounge, too.” He yawned and began walking back to the cabins. “Well, I’ll see you in the morning, kiddos. G’night.”

***

The next day was a busy one for Nolan Canter. After all, he had promised his classmates he would host a legendary campfire and, well, he always kept his promises. Just like the promise he made to Valerie to roast her an extra marshmallow. So, save for the 4 hour nap smack in the middle of the day, the Equestrian spent his whole day making extensive preparations for the campfire. He made so many runs back and forth between the camp store grabbing snacks and extra firewood that he had the way to the camp store memorized like the back of his hand. By sundown, the boy had everything set for the perfect campfire night. This was definitely going to be a night to remember.

That night, the students made their way to the campfire, where Nolan eagerly awaited their arrival. The orange flames roared to life, flickering tiny specks of light across the little stone circle that trapped the embers in. Four large log benches were placed around the fire, giving the students a seat to warm themselves and perhaps roast marshmallows and sing songs to keep their spirits up. Jasper’s pet rock, Dwayne, had been included in the ring of stones protecting their campfire on his special request. As the students quietly found themselves a seat next to their newfound friends, Nolan gestured his arms out wide and grinned.

 

NOLAN: “Welcome! Come one, come all, to the greatest campfire night you’ll ever experience! I’m your host, Nolan Canter, Super Stellar Equestrian, and we’re gonna have one wild ride!”  
MARION: “You have got to be kidding me. This is what I sacrificed my valuable sleep for?”  
POPPY: “Oh come on, Marion! Don’t be such a Debbie Downer!”  
CARMEN: “Who the hell is Debbie? I just came for the s’mores! Let’s start eating already, I’m starving!”  
TATE: “But I thought you just had dinner?”  
CARMEN: “Well, now I’m hungry again! So chop chop, people!”  
NOLAN: “Okay, do we all have a stick to roast marshmallows on?”  
BLAKE: “Of course, yo! I spent all afternoon searching for the most suitable stick. You see, the trick is to get one that’s long. It also has to be thin, but not too thin, or it’ll break! You also should hold your stick close to the embers to get a nice, crispy light brown— “  
CARMEN: “Oh, shut your trap! Where are my marshmallows? I wanna roast five at a time!”

Several large bags of marshmallows were passed to each log. Some people took just one, whereas others like Carmen and Nolan tried to fit many on their stick at once.

VALERIE: “Ahem! Ahem! Ahem!”  
ROWAN: “What is the matter, Valerie? Are you catching a cold?”  
VALERIE: “Well, I believe that Nolan here owes me a marshmallow? Where’s my fucking marshmallow?”  
NOLAN: “Geez, here. See? I made it as perfect as possible. Light brown and crispy like Blake said. Eh? Who’s your favourite Equestrian?”

Suddenly, Penny gave a loud cry of surprise from the other side of the campfire. She immediately jumped up from her seat and began stomping wildly on the end of her cloak— it had caught fire.

PENNY: “MY CLOAK! MY BEAUTIFUL, STUNNING CLOAK! SOMEONE HELP ME PUT IT OUT! HELP M—”  
THOMAS: “Got it!”  
ROWAN: “Oh, be careful!”  
PENNY: “Oh, thank you, dear Thomas! You are a true friend and may even possess some magical fire putter-outer skills! You may have potential to be a wizard too! Elliot and I shall teach you the ways of real magic! Classes are from 12 to 3 in the morning every day!”  
ELLIOT: “Don’t do it, it’s a trap.”  
THOMAS: “Uh, I’m good. Really. Just be careful not to put that thing too close to the fire. Unless, you know, you wanna die.”  
OLIVE: “Hey, can we start camping songs yet? I know a ton. There was a great big moose, the other day I met a bear, hey ho nobody home, my Bonnie—”  
MARION: “Oh, just kill me now. First Penny catches on fire, and now we’re singing camping songs? Fuck this, I’m outta here.”  
JOLIE: “Just stay! Nolan put a lot of effort into organizing this, so at least try to enjoy it.”  
MARION: “There is no fucking way I’m gonna enjoy a bunch of happy campers singing happy-go-lucky songs with their happy little minds! Have any of you realized that we’re in a killing game? We seriously need to do something about that.”  
JOLIE: “This campfire is to take our minds off that, darling! Just have fun and pretend Monokuma doesn’t exist! It’s fine!”  
CARMEN: “Hey, is anyone else feeling really hot? Or is it just me?”  
BLAKE: “Babe, I’m always hot.”  
TATE: “Hey, uh, do you ever think before you speak? Ever?”  
BLAKE: “Do I ever what before I what now?”  
VALERIE: “Jesus fuck.”  
JASPER: “Hey, does anyone want a charred marshmallow?”  
MARION: “Who in their right mind would want a charred marshmallow?”  
JASPER: “What are you saying? I love charred marshmallows. I just want to share the joy.”  
MARION: “I’ve only known you for a few days and you’re already the weirdest person I’ve ever met.”  
JASPER: “Thanks, you too.”  
ANABEL: “Burnt marshmallows taste disgusting. I tried one once and almost threw up.”  
JASPER: “Hey, don’t insult the love of my life like that.”  
NOLAN: “Yeah! You’re being so mean, Anabel. Marshmallows have feelings too.”  
ELLIOT: “In my opinion, burnt marshmallows aren’t too bad.”  
ANABEL: “Do you want to debate this, fish boy?”  
THOMAS: “Man, you sure are passionate about your opinions on burnt marshmallows, aren’t you?”  
ANABEL: “I’m passionate about my opinions on everything.”  
NOLAN: “Okay, that’s enough arguing, y’all. We’ve gotta get this party started! Yeehaw!”  
ELLIOT: “Look, we get it. You’re a cowboy.”  
POPPY: “Hey, I’ve been thinking about this since we’ve got here. If Nolan’s a world famous equestrian, why does he dress in that cowboy outfit?”  
NOLAN: “Because it’s funny! Have you seen actual equestrian outfits? They’re so boring! So I decided to spice it up a bit. Give it a ‘lil pizzazz, y’know.”  
MARION: “This new knowledge about you makes me hate you just a little bit more.”  
NOLAN: “Aww, thanks Marion! I knew you’d come to accept my friendship soon enough!”  
MARION: “What? That’s not what I said at all.”  
NOLAN: “Anyhoo, I was going to say something but Elliot here just had to interrupt. What a meanie!”  
ELLIOT: “I’m very sorry for hurting your delicate feelings, Nolan.”  
NOLAN: “It’s okay, bud. Anyway! I was thinking that we could play a little game to get to know each other better! It’s called Two Truths and A Lie! Won’t that be fun?”  
OLIVE: “You sound like those cheesy elementary school teachers when some new kids come in and they want them to get to know people.”  
SAFFRON: “Oh, she’s right.”  
NOLAN: “Shut up! Why do you people keep bullying me? I just want the best for this group!”  
MARION: “Do you?”  
NOLAN: “Stop interrupting me! Yeesh! Anyway, we all know how to play, right?”  
ROWAN: “I believe so. I think this is a great idea, Nolan.”  
NOLAN: “Thanks! At least tree girl’s on my side! This is why she’s my favorite! Anyway, I’ll begin. I once ate a whole pizza by myself, I get most of my puns from my dads and my favorite horse is named Mr. Horse! Place your bets, folks!”  
MARION: “Tell your dads that their tastes in puns is horrendous.”  
JASPER: “Are you meaning to tell us that your entire nuclear family is made up of pun-loving assholes?”  
NOLAN: “Maybe.”  
JOLIE: “I’d have to say the horse.”  
TATE: “Me too. It just seems like it was made up on the spot or something.”  
PENNY: “Ooh! The Great Penelope Claire knows the correct answer! It’s—”  
NOLAN: “Hey, hey! Don’t spoil the fun for everyone!”  
PENNY: “Aww, okay. I’ll just keep quiet and pretend that I don’t know the answer. Hmph. This game isn’t fit for such powerful magical beings like me.”  
MARION: “Jasper, I take it back. Penny’s the weirdest kid I’ve ever met.”  
SAFFRON: “Um, I think that the lie would be the pizza. I don’t think that it’s possible to eat that much in one go.”  
CARMEN: “Nah, it’s the pun one. I’m betting on it. I’ve eaten two whole pizzas by myself before.”  
SAFFRON: “O-oh…”  
VALERIE: “Wait, how the fuck do you eat two whole pizzas by yourself?”  
BLAKE: “It’s possible, Val. I’ve done it.”  
VALERIE: “Dear god, how much do you people eat?!”  
NOLAN: “So… can I reveal the lie now?”  
ROWAN: “I think now would be a good time, sure.”  
NOLAN: “Alright! The lie’s the one about the puns. Ding dong, Carmen’s got it right! My puns are either from the Internet or I come up with them on the spot.”  
MARION: “So your parents aren’t pun-loving freaks?”  
NOLAN: “Oh no, they are. They tell me a bunch of stupid jokes all the time. I get twice the dad jokes, man. To some, it might be hell. But to me, it’s a reminder that I’ll always be a better comedian than them. Because, y’know, their jokes suck.”  
POPPY: “That’s a bit mean!”  
NOLAN: “I’m a bit mean! I’ve accepted that fact about myself already!”  
JASPER: “Glad to hear that you’re self aware.”  
THOMAS: “Anyway, I should be next. So, my mom’s an accountant, I grew up in Whitehorse and I’ve got a twin sister.”  
ROWAN: “I’d have to say the first one. It just seems fake to me.”  
OLIVE: “Mhm. His mom could easily be somethin’ else. Or maybe his dad’s the accountant, I ‘unno.”  
JASPER: “Yeah, I agree with Rowan and Olive.”  
ANABEL: “What is your twin sister’s name?”  
THOMAS: “I can’t answer that! That’ll just give away the answer.”  
ELLIOT: “These statements are so… normal. When you compare them to Nolan’s pizza and Mr. Horse, it’s just so bland.”  
THOMAS: “It’s not my fault my life’s boring. I don’t consider myself a very interesting person. All I do is play lacrosse when you guys are making scientific breakthroughs and building complex machines.”  
CARMEN: “You could’ve at least picked something more interesting, though.”  
ANABEL: “I think it’s the twin sister. Something seems fishy about it.”  
JOLIE: “I think that the sister’s a bit strange too. It’s just a bit uncanny that two people in this class have a twin.”  
OLIVE: “Jolie, you have a twin?”  
JOLIE: “Yes. Unfortunately, she didn’t make it to this year’s class with me. It’s a shame.”  
OLIVE: “Man, I’m sorry. Must feel shitty to leave her behind.”  
JOLIE: “Well, our mansion is within driving distance from the school. It isn’t too bad.”  
THOMAS: “Alright, we’re getting a bit off track here. I’ll just reveal it right now. It’s the twin.”  
ANABEL: “Called it.”  
VALERIE: “Alright, it’s my turn! Pipe down and let me speak. So! I was the best flute player in my elementary school, I’ve been on a volleyball team and I had a bunch of celebrity crushes as a kid.”  
BLAKE: “Ooh, was I one of them?”  
VALERIE: “N-no…! I may have had a lot of weird celebrity crushes, but you’re just not good enough for me!”  
ANABEL: “So, I think we can assume that the celebrity crush one is true.”  
VALERIE: “Aw, shit!”  
PENNY: “I know this one too! Can I say it? Please? Pretty please?”  
VALERIE: “No! You’re gonna ruin it!”  
PENNY: “Oh, I’m sorry…”  
VALERIE: “You should be. Anyone have any guesses?”  
NOLAN: “I think the lie’s the one about you being good at playing the flute! Because I don’t think Vally’s good enough to be the best at anything.”  
VALERIE: “Listen here, you little shit. Say one more thing about my godly flute playing skills and I’ll fuckin’ push you into the fire.”  
NOLAN: “Ouch! Would you really do that to your bestie, Valerie? Burning is one of the most painful ways to die! I mean, you’ll inhale the toxic fumes from the fire, you’ll get poisoned and die immediately! Or maybe you’ll just get burnt alive! Like Jasper’s marshmallows!”  
JASPER: “My marshmallows are alive?”  
NOLAN: “It’s an expression, stupid!”  
SAFFRON: “Th-that sounds so scary…”  
JOLIE: “It really does. Nolan, can you stop talking about that? You’re scaring the children, dear.”  
SAFFRON: “B-but I’m the same age as you!”  
JOLIE: “Well, I’m fourteen. How old are you?”  
SAFFRON: “Ah, I’m only thirteen…”  
JOLIE: “See?”  
VALERIE: “Aww! You’re so fuckin’ young!”  
JASPER: “Valerie, how old are you?”  
VALERIE: “Well, my birthday’s on September 28!”  
SAFFRON: “Oh! Then, uh, that makes me eighteen days older than you!”  
VALERIE: “Huh? Sh-shut the fuck up! Who gave you permission to talk, anyway?”  
SAFFRON: “O-oh… I’m sorry.”  
ELLIOT: “Hey, I zoned out for a bit. Who are we on?”  
VALERIE: “Still me.”  
ELLIOT: “Well, hurry up.”  
VALERIE: “Fine! I’ll just reveal my lie now. I’ve never played on a volleyball team. Sports just isn’t my thing.”  
ANABEL: “Yes, I knew that one too. See, you revealed that you indeed have a lot of celebrity crushes, and you seemed visibly offended when Nolan insulted your talent as a flutist. It isn’t that difficult to figure out.”  
VALERIE: “Then why didn’t you fuckin’ say it, huh?”  
ANABEL: “I got… distracted.”  
BLAKE: “Okay, dudes, dudettes, and, uh… Tatette?”  
TATE: “Sure.”  
BLAKE: “It’s my turn! So buckle your seatbelts, because we’re going for a ride. Here we go! My mom forgot me in a No Frills parking lot as a child—”  
VALERIE: “Ahahaha! That’s the funniest shit I’ve heard all day.”  
BLAKE: “I can speak Korean and my dad’s a famous singer!”  
ANABEL: “Say something in Korean right now.”  
BLAKE: “Something in Korean right now.”  
ANABEL: “You don’t have to be a smartass.”  
BLAKE: “And you don’t have to be a nosy piece of shit who asks stupid questions, yo.”  
JASPER: “Blake’s kinda right.”  
ANABEL: “Hmph.”  
POPPY: “Hmm, I’d have to say the first one! Because it might not have been No Frills, it could’ve been some other grocery store. I don’t know, it just seems like something that’d be a lie.”  
VALERIE: “God, it doesn’t matter what grocery store his mom abandoned him in. It’s still funny as fuck.”  
TATE: “Maybe his dad abandoned him instead of his mom?”  
OLIVE: “Yeah, but if his dad’s a famous singer, I think he wouldn’t go shop at regular supermarkets.”  
JOLIE: “Well, when famous people go shopping, they sometimes use disguises to avoid paparazzi and that sort of thing.”  
NOLAN: “Then the No Frills one’s a lie! Because there’s no way to disguise Blake’s ugly teal head.”  
BLAKE: “Hey, I find that offensive. It is robin’s egg blue, excuse you.”  
VALERIE: “Ooh! I know the answer! It’s the famous singer one! Because it’s not his dad, it’s his mom. And he can speak Korean because he did so in one of his hit songs, Heartbeat, so that one’s definitely a fuckin’ truth. He learned the language from his dad, who’s Korean.”  
NOLAN: “Val, how do you know that, hmm?”  
VALERIE: “O-oh, my, uh… my friend… was really obsessed with Blake and his music. It was fuckin’ creepy as shit.”  
ANABEL: “What’s your friend’s name?”  
VALERIE: “Autumn! Her name is Autumn. Very nice girl. I miss her.”  
BLAKE: “Well, Val got it right. My mom’s a famous singer. My dad, on the other hand, is an electronic music artist! He doesn’t use lyrics in his songs.”  
VALERIE: “Booyah!”  
JOLIE: “So it’s my turn now. Hmm… here goes. I love chocolate, I live in a four story mansion and I am a straight A student.”  
VALERIE: “Well, it’s obviously the fuckin’ chocolate one. She’s a fancy ass model, right?”  
JOLIE: “I am a fancy model, yes.”  
VALERIE: “Well, she surely can’t eat a lot of chocolate if she’s gotta stay thin and crap.”  
ROWAN: “You’re right, but dark chocolate doesn’t really get you fat. So perhaps she likes those?”  
VALERIE: “Hell if I know. I’m not obsessed with celebrities and shit, so don’t ask me.”  
NOLAN: “If you say so.”  
ROWAN: “Oh, Marion! You should try to guess.”  
MARION: “Well, I honestly can’t give a shit about this whole game. It’s a childish game for childish children.”  
ROWAN: “But we are children, Marion. Loosen up a bit, will you?”  
MARION: “Tch, fine. If I had to guess, it’d be the straight A student one. Modelling takes a lot of time out of your schedule, so it’s hard to believe that Jolie’s a really good student unless she worked her ass off for it.”  
ANABEL: “It is possible, but somewhat unlikely.”  
OLIVE: “Alright, how ‘bout the mansion? Maybe it’s more than four stories or somethin’.”  
POPPY: “Isn’t four stories enough?!”  
JOLIE: “Oh! Olive is correct! My mansion stands five stories tall.”  
POPPY: “Woah, it’s like you’re living in a castle…”  
JOLIE: “It really is! Oh darlings, I should invite you all over once we’re out of this camp. It’d be splendid. I could get my butlers to prepare a grand meal for all of you!”  
NOLAN: “That’d be so cool! Is there a giant staircase? I wanna slide down the banister like they do in cartoons!”  
JOLIE: “Er, yes, there is a giant staircase…”  
NOLAN: “Hell yes! I can’t wait to go over to Princess L’Amoureux’s fancy castle and trash the place!”  
VALERIE: “Oh, count me in!”  
NOLAN: “Jolie, do you have a pool table I could potentially throw myself on and break? I’ve always wanted to do that.”  
JOLIE: “Ahem! There will be no pool table breaking!”  
NOLAN: “Aw, you’re no fun.”  
CARMEN: “Hey, I guess it’s my turn now. Alright, I had to stay a month in the hospital as a kid, I love caramel candies and I’ve visited twenty different countries.”  
OLIVE: “Well, it’s the second one for sure. She’s just tryin’ to trick us because her name sounds so much like caramel!”  
NOLAN: “You guys say caramel like that? Why?”  
OLIVE: “What? It’s caramel. The hell’s wrong with you?”  
NOLAN: “It’s caramel! I will stick to my beliefs, woman!”  
POPPY: “Y’know, this is a really bad argument to be having in this text format.”  
NOLAN: “What format?”  
POPPY: “It’s nothing you have to worry about.”  
ELLIOT: “The last one seems suspicious to me. How much money would you even need to travel to that many countries within fourteen years?”  
ROWAN: “Well, you’d have to remember that Carmen is a gold medal teen Olympian. She probably has a lot of money to spare from sponsors and such.”  
ELLIOT: “But she won that medal in her teenage years. How did her family rack up so much cash to go on over two vacations within a year? It still seems fishy to me.”  
CARMEN: “I guess I’ll just reveal it now. Elliot’s right, I haven’t been to twenty countries. I’ve only been to ten.”  
MARION: “So you were in the hospital for a month? I know someone who ended up in there for a month too, and they weren’t able to save him… what happened?”  
CARMEN: “Eh, it’s nothin’ much. Skiing accident.”  
POPPY: “Well, I’m glad you’re still here now!”  
CARMEN: “Yep, me too. So, next should be…?”  
SAFFRON: “Ah, I think it’s my turn… hmm.”  
OLIVE: “It’s alright, take your time. We can skip you and go back to you later if you can’t think of anything.  
SAFFRON: “It’s okay, I’ve got it. So, um, I have a Peperomia plant in my room—”  
VALERIE: “A pepper Rome what?”  
SAFFRON: “A... radiator plant.”  
NOLAN: “Ohh! Then why’d you have to say the fancy name? Make us all feel stupid?”  
SAFFRON: “O-oh no… I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean for it to be like that.”  
JASPER: “Hey, Nolan. Mind shutting up for a second?”  
NOLAN: “Hmph.”  
SAFFRON: “U-um… I’ve attended nine different elementary schools, and I made my flower crown myself. There.”  
BLAKE: “Nine different fuckin’ elementary schools, yo? That means you’d have to move, like, every year!”  
ANABEL: “I could never imagine having to go through that. Poor child.”  
VALERIE: “Alright, let’s assume the last one’s a lie. Who the fuck would make a flower crown for this kid? I mean, if he moved almost every year, he’d have no friends at all!”  
JASPER: “So we’re assuming that the pepper plant thing’s a lie?”  
CARMEN: “Nah, my bet’s on the crown.”  
POPPY: “I think it’s the school one! Statements with numbers in them can easily be lies.”  
ANABEL: “She’s correct. I’ll go with the school one as well.”  
SAFFRON: “Okay, so d-do I just reveal the lie now, or…?”  
JASPER: “Sure, go for it.”  
SAFFRON: “It’s the plant. I do have many plants in my room, but no, I don’t have a radiator plant.”  
VALERIE: “Man, that’s the most boring lie since Thomas’s.”  
THOMAS: “Again, not my fault my life is boring.”  
ROWAN: “Oh, come on. Your life isn’t boring. You’re a famous lacrosse player!”  
THOMAS: “Yeah, I guess so.”  
ELLIOT: “So… is it my turn now?”  
ROWAN: “Go ahead, Elliot.”  
ELLIOT: “Okay, uh, I have two siblings named Evelyn and Ethan, can’t stand the taste of mint or any spicy food, and… I graduated elementary school as the valedictorian.”  
PENNY: “Ooh, can I please tell this one? Pretty please? With a cherry and whipped cream on top?”  
ELLIOT: “Fine, Penny. You can tell them after they’ve made some guesses.”  
PENNY: “Hooray!”  
POPPY: “Oh, I’ve got the answer already!”  
PENNY: “Huh? How? Are you a mage too, Poppy? A secret practitioner of divination?”  
POPPY: “Um, no. Elliot was talking to me about it yesterday.”  
ANABEL: “Okay, so if Elliot told Poppy something yesterday that contradicts one of these statements, I’d say the lie is the first one. The one about the siblings.”  
OLIVE: “And how’d you come up with that conclusion?”  
ANABEL: “Well, you don’t just tell people that you weren’t the valedictorian or that you like spicy food. It’s a bit strange to bring up in conversation— the topics are so random, if you get what I mean. It’d be a bit more likely for Elliot to tell Poppy about his siblings, and I’m willing to bet that one of their names are wrong.”  
TATE: “Okay, then it’s the sibling one.”  
ELLIOT: “Well, Anabel got it right. My siblings’ names are Evelyn and Eric.”  
PENNY: “Yes! Anabel is definitely absolutely correct! Wonderful work, Miss Maybury!”  
ANABEL: “Er, thank you. So it is my turn now, correct?”  
MARION: “Yeah, just go for it so we can get this over with.”  
ANABEL: “Hmm… I began studying law at the age of eight, I have lived in the same city for my whole life and I’ve taught myself three different languages.”  
CARMEN: “You’re just bragging!”  
ELLIOT: “I don’t think the city one’s bragging. Don’t most people live in the same house for most of their lives?”  
SAFFRON: “I mean, I didn’t…”  
JOLIE: “Well, it just means that the Maybury family is financially stable.”  
ELLIOT: “Oh, so it is bragging.”  
POPPY: “I think it’s the first one! Maybe she studied it at a younger age?”  
THOMAS: “You… weird kid geniuses… you’re freaking me out here. How can you even focus on something as boring as law at the age of eight? When I was eight, I was climbing over fences and spending my days practicing sports with my friends.”  
ANABEL: “Law isn’t boring. I find it interesting.”  
THOMAS: “I mean, we’ve all got different tastes.”  
BLAKE: “Eh, I’d say the language one’s a lie, dudette. Who even has time for that?”  
ROWAN: “But becoming fluent in many languages would be useful for somebody who’d want to pursue a career in law, wouldn’t it?”  
BLAKE: “Well, I guess you’re right.”  
ANABEL: “Since it looks like none of you are able to come to a conclusion, I’ll reveal my lie now. It is the languages.”  
BLAKE: “Haha! Take that, Rowan! Told you it’s impossible. Nobody has time for that shit!”  
ANABEL: “I haven’t just studied three languages— I’ve studied five.”  
BLAKE: “O-oh.”  
POPPY: “Okay! It’s my turn! So… I’ve got a huge collection of retro video games, I’ve binged seven seasons of anime within three weeks and I’ve never ridden a roller coaster before!”  
NOLAN : “Geez Poppy, how much sleep do you get?”  
ELLIOT: “I’d think the first one is true. Poppy loves video games, so she probably has a big collection of them.”  
ROWAN: “Okay, but are they retro games specifically?”  
ELLIOT: “I’m not sure about that part. But I feel like the first one’s true.”  
PENNY: “Poppy! Poppy! Please! Just give me my time to shine! Let me reveal your lie, please! I can assure you it will be correct! For the Great Penelope Claire knows all!”  
POPPY: “Hmm, alright! But only when I tell you to, okay?”  
PENNY: “Yes ma’am! Thank you so much! I promise you, it will be perfectly accurate! My predictions are always correct, after all!”  
CARMEN: “Haha, if you say so.”  
OLIVE: “What about the rollercoaster one? Poppy seems like the type to be totally into ridin’ them. The fun-loving adventurous type, y’know?”  
JASPER: “I guess you’re right. I’m sure she would’ve gone on at least one in her life, right?”  
NOLAN: “I’m guessing it’s the anime one. I can’t even bear to watch one episode of the garbage, how can someone watch seven seasons in three weeks?”  
THOMAS: “Yeah, the anime one has my vote.”  
PENNY: “Poppy, may I?”  
POPPY: “Sure, go ahead!”  
MARION: “It’s gonna be wrong. Or at least really vague. The supernatural doesn’t exist, after all.”  
PENNY: “Nolan and Thomas are indeed correct! Poppy has not watched seven seasons of anime within three weeks— she has watched only three within three weeks! The anime in question was about a world where everyone has superpowers! It’s called—”  
THOMAS: “Nobody cares about the details, Penny.”  
POPPY: “Oh my gosh! She was actually right!”  
THOMAS: “Huh?”  
POPPY: “Penny’s correct! About the lie, the number of seasons I watched, and the anime I watched! She must really be psychic, huh? That’s so cool!”  
MARION: “Tch… lucky guess. Supernatural abilities don’t exist, and I am firm in my beliefs.”  
PENNY: “Hee hee! If you say so, puppet boy!”  
BLAKE: “Wait, you’ve never ridden a roller coaster, Pops? When we get outta here, I’m totally taking you on every single rollercoaster at the nearest fair! Heh heh… could we call that a date?”  
JOLIE: “Blake…”  
POPPY: “Oh, um… I’m sorry. I just don’t want to ride a rollercoaster.”  
BLAKE: “What? Then, uh, we could go somewhere else for our date, right?”  
POPPY: “I don’t want to ride a rollercoaster nor do I want to date you!”  
BLAKE: “Okay, I’ll stop asking about the date. Sorry about that, dudette. But why don’t you wanna ride a rollercoaster?”  
POPPY: “I just don’t like them.”  
BLAKE: “Aw, everyone’s scared of them on their first go! You’ll have fun, I can assure you.”  
POPPY: “I told you! I don’t want to ride a rollercoaster!”  
JASPER: “Blake, lay off.”  
BLAKE: “Geez, alright. Sorry ‘bout that, yo.”  
POPPY: “It’s fine…”  
MARION: “So who’s turn is it now? I want to get this shitshow over with.”  
NOLAN: “Oh! Marion! It’s your turn now! Go for it, bestie!”  
MARION: “Wh-what? No! I refuse to partake in this idiotic game.”  
BLAKE: “You should loosen up a bit, dude! Just try it out!”  
MARION: “Fine. My name is Marion Spruce, I’m the Super Stellar Puppeteer and I love you all.”  
ROWAN: “Oh, for crying out loud…”  
CARMEN: “Wait, was that it? Those are his statements?”  
JASPER: “I think it’s the second one.”  
POPPY: “Marion! You’re so pessimistic. Don’t be such a Debbie Downer, just have some fun and play this game with us.”  
CARMEN: “Again, who the fuck’s Debbie?”  
MARION: “Ugh, fine. Here goes. I’ve taken piano lessons, I’ve taken dance lessons and I’ve taken swimming lessons.”  
POPPY: “There we go!”  
TATE: “I think it’s the dance lessons. I can’t imagine this guy dancing.”  
BLAKE: “Well, I can’t imagine this guy in a swimsuit.”  
JASPER: “I can, and it’s a horrifying mental image.”  
ANABEL: “How about the piano lessons? It’s certainly possible.”  
THOMAS: “I mean, I guess. I’ll go with that.”  
VALERIE: “There’s nothin’ to fuckin’ dispute any of these statements! I’ll just say it’s the swimming lessons. There’s a one in three chance I’ll be right, anyway!”  
MARION: “Valerie’s correct. I’ve never taken swimming lessons. I don’t even know how to swim.”  
VALERIE: “Hell yeah! I guess I’m just lucky, huh?”  
NOLAN: “So you don’t know how to swim, hm…?”  
MARION: “Whatever you’re thinking, I don’t like it.”  
TATE: “So you can dance?”  
JASPER: “Oh, that’s another horrifying mental image.”  
MARION: “Yes, I can dance. But I’m not going to show you anything.”  
BLAKE: “Aw c’mon, yo! We’ve gotta have a party here at some point. Then you could show off your sick dance skills, dude.”  
SAFFRON: “Why would you have a party without anything to celebrate…?”  
BLAKE: “What, you’ve never been to a party just for the hell of it? I throw parties for fun every week!”  
SAFFRON: “O-oh… I thought it was someone’s birthday.”  
THOMAS: “I’m with Saff on this one. There’s nothing to celebrate here, man! We’re in a killing game!”  
BLAKE: “Again, because this big goon wasn’t listening, you don’t need anything specific to celebrate to throw a sick ass party! You can just celebrate... life, y’know?”  
POPPY: “Ooh! We could have a party to celebrate the fact that we all got into RIMI!”  
NOLAN: “That’s actually not a bad idea!”  
BLAKE: “So we can actually have a sick party here, yo? This’ll be sweet! We’ll just need a place to host it and all the supplies… do you think that Monokuma could provide some strobe lights for us or some shit?”  
JASPER: “Anyway, it’s my turn. My middle name’s Winston, my favorite gemstones are sapphires and I live in an apartment building.”  
ELLIOT: “For starters, anyone can lie about their middle name.”  
ROWAN: “Jasper Winston Bayers… does that sound right to any of you?”  
VALERIE: “What kinda fuckin’ middle name is Winston? Sounds old fashioned as shit. It’s garbage compared to my gorgeous middle name!”  
OLIVE: “And what’s your middle name, huh?”  
VALERIE: “Autumn! Valerie Autumn Millstein! It’s a beautiful name for a beautiful girl!”  
NOLAN: “Woah, Val! It must be so weird to have a friend whose first name is the same as your middle name.”  
VALERIE: “H-h-huh…? Yeah! It’s totally fuckin’ weird as shit! Haha!”  
BLAKE: “It must be totally weird, dudette! You’ve gotta introduce me to this Autumn chick one day. I’ll be sure to give her an extra special autograph!”  
VALERIE: “Y-yeah… sure.”  
POPPY: “How about the one about the sapphires? I would’ve thought that his favorite gemstone would be jaspers.”  
THOMAS: “Wouldn’t that be a bit obvious, though? That’s a bit of a stupid assumption.”  
POPPY: “I guess?”  
OLIVE: “Hey, weren’t you making something with rubies last night? If the second one’s true, I figured you would’ve used your favorite gemstone.”  
TATE: “Okay, but that evidence doesn’t hold much weight. Uh, Jasper doesn’t always have to use his favorite gemstone in jewelry designs.”  
OLIVE: “But the sapphires were right there!”  
ANABEL: “I’d like to question the apartment building one. Jasper is a famous jeweler. I know his designs were worn by some of the most famous fashion icons in the world, including Miss L’Amoureux here.”  
JOLIE: “I can confirm, yes. I have indeed worn his jewelry.”  
ANABEL: “The Bayers family must have made tons of money off selling his jewelry alone. I believe that a wealthier family wouldn’t live in a mundane apartment, but a fancier home instead.”  
CARMEN: “Oh, yeah! That makes sense. I’m going with the apartment one too.”  
OLIVE: “But what if they spent the cash somewhere else? Just because someone has the cash doesn’t mean they have to live in a fancy home, but I ‘unno.”  
THOMAS: “If I had the cash, I sure as hell would’ve lived in a fancy home. Don’t see why anyone wouldn’t take the opportunity.”  
OLIVE: “Eh, I guess you’re right.”  
JASPER: “Bingo, you’ve got it. I live in a bigger house, and a part of it’s being used as my family’s jewelry store. It’s a nice place. It’s probably not as nice as Jolie’s castle, though.”  
ANABEL: “Oh, I’m good at this game.”  
THOMAS: “Yeah, of course you are. Because you’re the Super Stellar Lawyer or whatever.”  
TATE: “Okay, uh, I think it’s my turn. Um, let’s see… Lions and Lords is based off a fanfiction I wrote when I was a kid, these glasses are only for the aesthetic and I’ve pulled thirteen all nighters.”  
ROWAN: “W-wait… what was that first one?”  
ELLIOT: “I think the lie is the second one. Tate’s one of the greatest teen authors in the country. Of course they’d spend a lot of time hunched over their computers and books. They’d probably need to get glasses after a while.”  
ANABEL: “Elliot’s reasoning is correct. I’ll go with the glasses one as well.”  
BLAKE: “Yo… thirteen all nighters? Is that even fuckin’ possible, yo?”  
ANABEL: “I’ve pulled around that much as well.”  
BLAKE: “H-huh?! You people need to get more sleep!”  
ROWAN: “I’d like to think that the first one is a lie! The tragic tale of Marielle Meador and Lou Shipman can’t be a fanfiction, right? It was a beautifully crafted story of two star crossed lovers, crossing the stars together and fighting aliens! It couldn’t be a fanfiction!”  
ANABEL: “Well, fanfiction is defined as a story based on an already existing work. In fact, the famous Romeo and Juliet is in fact based on a poem called The Tragicall Historye of Romeus and Juliet. So technically speaking, even William Shakespeare wrote fanfiction.”  
ROWAN: “I… I need a moment.”  
BLAKE: “I’m sticking to the all nighters one. That’s just not fuckin’ possible, yo!”  
TATE: “So, um, Elliot’s correct. I actually do need these glasses.”  
ROWAN: “So Lions and Lords was a fanfiction after all…?”  
TATE: “Haha, yeah. It’s based off a book I had to read for novel study in grade school.”  
ROWAN: “My life is a lie…”  
OLIVE: “Alright, I’m next! So, I dyed my hair before, I was born in Manila and I was taught archery by my mom.”  
JASPER: “I can’t imagine Olive with any other hair color. It just doesn’t feel right.”  
VALERIE: “Haha! Imagine Olive with like, teal hair. She’d look so fuckin’ good!”  
NOLAN: “Of course you’d think that people with teal hair look good!”  
VALERIE: “Sh-shut the fuck up, Crapter!”  
NOLAN: “Aw, you didn’t even try with that one.”  
BLAKE: “I don’t get the teal hair thing. What’s she talking about?”  
JOLIE: “Don’t think about it too hard, dear.”  
ROWAN: “Okay, so what if she was taught archery by her dad?”  
TATE: “I mean, it’s equally as possible.”  
ANABEL: “Olive does look Filipino, so the second one could possibly be a truth. But it could still possibly be a lie—she could have been born in a completely different part of the Philippines.”  
POPPY: “Or maybe she was born in America, but she’s got Filipino parents! That’s still a possibility, right?”  
ANABEL: “Ah, you’re right. Never mind.”  
OLIVE: “I’ll just say it now. The lie’s that I never dyed my hair before. This hair’s completely natural!”  
JASPER: “Yeah, see? I can’t imagine her with any other hair color.”  
OLIVE: “Anyway, yeah. My mom taught me archery, and she’s really damn cool. Total badass. God, the mere thought of my dad holdin’ a bow and arrow cracks me up.”  
TATE: “Why?”  
OLIVE: “My dad’s a huge nerd! If I saw him holding a bow and arrow, I’d think he’d be gettin’ ready to head out to the local anime convention or some shit.”  
POPPY: “Oh! Olive, does your dad cosplay?”  
OLIVE: “Unfortunately.”  
NOLAN: “Anyway, now it should be—”  
PENNY: “My turn! My turn to finally shine! I was getting super bored of sitting around and watching you silly mortals debate these foolish statements! Hmph! Okay, here goes! I’ve never gone to sleep before two in the morning ever since I was six, my bright ginger hair is totally natural and I was not the shortest in my eighth grade class!”  
ROWAN: “Penelope, you really should adopt some better sleeping habits.”  
PENNY: “Gahh! I told you all to call me Penny! And hell to that! Sleep is for the weak! An all powerful seer like me does not need to waste her precious time on such trivialities!”  
JASPER: “Sleeping is the best feeling in the world. I don’t see why you people are like this.”  
BLAKE: “Alright, I’ve gotta call bullshit on the hair one. That hair is too damn bright, yo. She looks like she came straight out of a children’s television show or something.”  
JOLIE: “Hm, I’ve seen a few people with hair as bright as hers. It could possibly be true.”  
BLAKE: “Huh? That’s so weird, dudette…”  
ELLIOT: “I’m willing to bet the sleeping one’s true. I mean, she seems so used to staying up late. It’s ridiculous, really.”  
ANABEL: “Okay, I’d like to call some attention to the last one. Penny is roughly 4’10”. How tall would someone have to be in the eighth grade to be shorter than her?”  
NOLAN: “Anabel, you can’t just assume things. Maybe she had a classmate who skipped a grade! Or maybe she had a classmate who was a midget or something.”  
ANABEL: “Look, that’s rather unlikely. I still think it’s the last one.”  
PENNY: “Okay, this is boring me! The lie’s the last one, Anabel’s right! I was indeed the shortest in my eighth grade class.”  
ANABEL: “Another point for me, I suppose.”  
JASPER: “Are we even keeping points?”  
ANABEL: “We aren’t?”  
ROWAN: “Anabel, this isn’t really a competition. It’s more of a way to get to know each other better.”  
ANABEL: “Ah, I see.”  
ROWAN: “Anyway, I’ll finish this off. I had eight siblings, all of their names begin with the letter R and I’m the oldest.”  
POPPY: “Well, the last one’s definitely a truth! Rowan’s so motherly and responsible, and if she’s the eldest sibling that’d make complete sense! That’s how she knows how to take care of people so well!”  
ANABEL: “Hm, that’s right.”  
JASPER: “What about the seven siblings one?”  
POPPY: “That’d totally match up with the motherly thing, wouldn’t it?”  
ELLIOT: “The middle one seems to stand out a bit more. The first and last statements both make sense, because Rowan seems to know how to lead larger groups of people and care for them properly. But the middle one’s a bit of an odd one out.”  
OLIVE: “Well, Rowan could always be lyin’ about the number of siblings she’s got, right?”  
TATE: “Yes, she could be. I’d say that, uh, the last one’s a definite truth, and either one of the first two could be the lie.”  
VALERIE: “Yeah, we’ve all got that. But which fuckin’ one’s the lie?”  
ELLIOT: “The second one’s possible. Families do tend to have naming trends. My parents chose names that all started with the letter E, for example.”  
JOLIE: “So it seems that we are unable to come to a conclusion. Rowan, darling, I’d say now’s a good time to reveal the lie.”  
ROWAN: “Okay. The lie’s the second one, the one about our names. Our family does have a naming trend, but it certainly isn’t names starting with the letter R.”  
NOLAN: “Ooh! So what is the naming trend, huh? Are you all named after trees?”  
ROWAN: “Haha, actually, you’ve got it right on! My family loves trees and gardening, so they decided to name their children after types of trees. I did indeed have eight siblings. Their names are Acacia, Willow, Maple, Cypress, Elm, Juniper, Magnolia and… Ginkgo.  
NOLAN: “Woah! Tree girl’s got a whole tree family!”  
MARION: “So are we done, or not?”  
NOLAN: “Actually, I was thinking of going for another round!”  
ELLIOT: “Ugh…”  
THOMAS: “You can’t expect me to think up more interesting facts about myself.”  
SAFFRON: “Ah… is it okay if I don’t p-participate in this round?”  
JASPER: “I want to sleep.”  
MARION: “The people have spoken.”  
NOLAN: “Aww, fine! I guess this brings the campfire night to an end.”  
POPPY: “Alright! Ahh… that dragged on for way too long.”  
ROWAN: “But you’d have to admit, it was quite fun getting to know each other.”  
POPPY: “It was! Well, I’ll see you guys in the morning! I’m off to get some rest.”  
CARMEN: “Yeah, same… huh? Where’s my jacket?”  
JOLIE: “You put it behind the log, right?”  
CARMEN: “Yup, but it’s gone. What happened?”  
BLAKE: “Don’t worry, dudette. I’m sure it’ll turn up!”  
OLIVE: “Maybe Monokuma took it. I haven’t seen that stupid bear all day.”  
CARMEN: “It’s alright, it doesn’t matter. I’ve got twenty nine more, after all.”  
NOLAN: “What if the mysterious jacket thief returns and steals all your jackets, huh? Then what’ll you do?”  
POPPY: “Hm, if the jacket thief isn’t Monokuma, maybe he’ll replace them! He already gives us food and shelter, so I don’t think he’ll mind replacing a few jackets!”  
ELLIOT: “God, you’re making Monokuma sound like a good person.”  
POPPY: “I mean, sure, he wants us to kill each other and all, but he’s been providing us with so much free stuff! He even does our laundry for us!”  
JASPER: “Wait, he does?”  
POPPY: “Yep. I got my sweater soiled earlier today and he got it fixed up in just a few minutes!”  
ELLIOT: “No, Monokuma’s not on our side. Sure, he gives us decent living accommodations and free things, but he’s definitely not someone to be trusted.”  
JOLIE: “Tch, you call this decent living accommodations?”  
POPPY: “I’m just trying to think on the positive side! Nobody’s actually gonna die here, so I think we should just enjoy our time here!”  
BLAKE: “Yeah, Pops is right! We’ve got zero responsibilities in this place! Think about all the stressful work we’d be doing if we were at the Institute right now! Isn’t this place infinitely better?”  
ANABEL: “Not really, no.”  
CARMEN: “Man, I don’t even think I need a jacket in this place. I mean, it’s hot as hell in this camp!”  
MARION: “I’d have to admit, I don’t see the need for a huge winter jacket in this place either. It’s very hot here.”  
NOLAN: “It’s not even hot! You guys are too sensitive, geez!”  
POPPY: “Well, I think I’ll be going to bed in a bit.”  
OLIVE: “Okay, g’night, Poppy. Oh hey, Tommy, Saff. Don’t forget about training tonight, alright?”  
THOMAS: “Oh, are we doing nicknames now? Are we seriously doing nicknames now?”  
SAFFRON: “Y-yeah, of course! I won’t forget. I… I have a few ideas about the lair thing we were talking about last night.”  
OLIVE: “Really? I’d love to hear ‘em later, kid.”  
POPPY: “It’s so cool that you guys are rising up against Monokuma and everything! I hope your training goes well! Anyway, goodnight for real now! I’m off!”

With that, Poppy rose from her place on the log and began her walk back to her cabin. The rest of the class followed suit to their own cabins, hoping to get a good night’s rest after the long campfire. It was a wonderful way to relax and enjoy the camp’s atmosphere, but thoughts of the killing game still lingered in the back of their minds. 

After all, the motive was set to expire very soon.

***

The following morning, the 16 students rose to their fourth day spent in the camp. A few of the more hopeful students were having a difficult time accepting that they’ve been imprisoned for about half a week now. The thought that perhaps this game was to be taken seriously crossed their minds, but they hurriedly tried to shake it off. Obviously this game was nothing more than a way for the Institute to evaluate their reactions to a stressful situation, right?  
Breakfast was scrambled eggs, courtesy of Rowan. The Pathologist, being the only one with some form of culinary expertise, had accepted her newfound position as the team chef. Instead of the usual class discussion over breakfast, conversations boiled down to quiet banter between two or three people. It was apparent that each of the students had started to gravitate towards certain people— Valerie and Nolan were gaining a reputation as “the pranksters” of the group, Saffron and Jasper (as introverted as the two of them were) were surprisingly getting along rather well, Poppy and Elliot seemed to share similar interests, and Tate found a trustworthy pal in Olive.  
The class spent the morning doing the usual— video games at the lounge, trying to find a way out of the campgrounds, getting lost in the woods and making attempts at playing tennis. Soon enough, lunchtime rolled around the corner.

Lunchtime was the most relaxing time of the day for Rowan. It was the time when everybody was hungry from their morning activities, happily chatting about what they did and what they planned to do in the afternoon. Everybody liked to sit in the same seats every meal, and the same people always went up for seconds, thirds, and sometimes even fourths. Sometimes her peers loved her food so much they tried to hoard extras from the shiny silver platters.  
Usually, her lunchtime menu was composed of a drink, side snack, and main dish. Today, she made the classic fruit punch with cinnamon rolls and her signature roasted butternut squash lasagna. At about five minutes prior to twelve, Carmen, Blake, and Elliot filed in— an unlikely trio. Rowan placed the several juice bowls down and joined them.  
“You can go grab an early lunch if you want,” she said, pulling up the chair closest to her. “And maybe even a cinnamon roll, since you already know Nolan will claim them all the moment he lays his eyes on them.” Blake laughed and went to sit at the table. He poured a full glass of fruit punch and handed it to Carmen.  
“For you, my lady.” He grinned with a slight bow. Carmen rolled her eyes but accepted the glass anyway. Elliot sighed, getting up to grab a plate from the kitchen.  
“Oh, I’m sorry, my dude,” Blake said. “Did you want me to get you fruit punch as well? I apologize most sincerely if I excluded you from Blake’s Super Speedy Drink Service.” Carmen nearly choked on her fruit punch trying to suppress her laughter.  
“You know, I have an excellent record,” the DJ continued. “The other day, I brought Poppy and you some milkshakes, right? Cherry and strawberry, if I can recall correctly.” The Angler rolled his eyes and grabbed a cinnamon roll to satisfy his grumbling stomach. It had been a few hours since his last meal, and a few eggs were no match for hours of training with Penny to be the next “Super Stellar Wizard”. Tiresome it was to memorize gibberish chants while waving your hands around in specific swirly motions. Meditating was difficult because Elliot found it particularly hard to concentrate on his “zen-y spirit”. Nevertheless, he always found himself taking seconds and thirds at lunch and dinner time. Carmen stole one of his rolls off his plate and finished half of it in one bite.  
“Mmmm! Rowan, these cinnamon rolls are amazing! You gotta teach me how to make these. They’re incredible. Really.”  
“Aww, thank you Carmen. I try my best to give you good food. After all, we’re going to be living here for quite a while!” She sipped on a glass of fruit punch she prepared for herself before the trio had arrived. “So, what are you planning to do after lunch?” Rowan liked knowing where everyone was, perhaps because she wanted to protect them. It was part of her motherly instinct— she wanted her peers to be happy during their time here.  
Carmen tapped her chin, thinking. “I think I’m going to go confront Monokuma.” Elliot gasped.  
“You’ll get killed! Haven’t you read the rules?” he said, heading back to sit at the table. “He can just push a button and you’ll get executed. You can’t do this to yourself.”  
The Pathologist shook her head firmly. “Absolutely not.”  
It was then when Nolan strolled into the room, his eyes lighting up when he saw the large stack of cinnamon rolls. Grabbing as much as his arms could carry, he began making his way to his seat. As he munched on one of the sugary pastries, he observed the tense looks on his classmates’ faces.  
“Hey, who died?” he asked innocently. When nobody responded, he flashed a mischievous grin. “Tell me! Tell me!” Carmen shook her head and got up to leave, but Elliot tugged her arm, forcing her to stay.  
“Nobody died,” said Rowan. She pointed an accusatory finger at the Skier and practically yelled, “However, Carmen here wants to go commit suicide by confronting Monokuma!” She hated raising her voice, but at times she had to insist on protecting her fellow classmates. “Back me up here, Nolan. Don’t you think it’s incredibly dangerous for Carmen to go confront Monokuma alone?”  
The Equestrian licked the icing sugar off his lips. “Actually, that’s a pretty good idea,” he said, much to Rowan’s horror. He turned to Carmen with a childish grin. “Way to go, Carcar! You go, girl!”  
Carmen shot a glare at him. “Call me Carcar again and it might be the last thing you do,” she spat, getting up to get her fourth cinnamon roll.  
The Pathologist shook her head in disbelief. “In what universe is confronting Monokuma a good idea?” she asked, folding her arms. “We’ll just find a way out on our own. Upsetting our captors will only lead to great danger!”  
Nolan turned to her. “Well yeah, but I still think it’s worth a shot,” he said flatly. He leaned back in his chair. “It’d be best to do it now, anyway.” Then his expression grew dark, his smile unfaltering. “Before someone’s murdered, I mean.”  
Rowan grew tenser, but she held back from arguing further with the Equestrian. Carmen returned to the table and sat, licking her fingers clean from icing sugar. “Horse boy’s right, y’know,” she mumbled through a mouthful of cinnamon rolls. “I’ve got a bunch of questions I want answers to, and I want them answered fast. Plus, he might drop clues about why we’re trapped here and all that mystery shit.”  
The Pathologist hesitated. “Fine,” she finally said. “You can go confront Monokuma. Just be careful!” She wagged a finger at her. “Read over the rules first! Don’t threaten him!”  
“Don’t die,” added Elliot. The Angler still thought it was a bad idea, but he knew that he couldn’t stop the headstrong Skier once she got started. “But if you do, that’s on you.”  
Carmen beamed. “Alright! I’ll do that tonight! Man, I can’t wait to get some answers.” Rowan smiled at her, but she couldn’t help but worry for the girl’s safety. Praying that Carmen’s corpse wouldn’t show up after the confrontation, Rowan returned to setting out the dishes of food.  
“Afternoon, dearies!” The new arrival lightened the mood in the room. The Supermodel smiled at them as she sashayed over to the long table of food. She took the last cinnamon roll and sat at her usual seat. Placing her black purse down beside her, she began to eat. “You’re all early, hm?”  
“Yeah!” exclaimed Nolan. With a cheeky smile, he added, “It’s worth it, too. When you come early, you get to eat all the cinnamon rolls!” Pushing his clean plate forward, he relaxed in his seat. “Well, I’m done my lunch!”  
Rowan rolled her eyes. “No, you’re not,” she insisted. “Sit right back down, you haven’t eaten any lasagna yet. You need a more filling lunch.”  
The Equestrian pouted. “Aww, okay.” He reluctantly leaned over to serve himself some lasagna. The next few minutes were spent in relative silence as Rowan set out a few pitchers of juice. Then eventually, the rest of the class filed into the dining hall and the usual quiet conversations began. As she ate, Rowan overheard conversations relating to video games, their families and tennis. She slightly smiled at this— her peers were getting along so well with each other, and she loved seeing them happy like this.  
“So are we just gonna ignore the fuckin’ elephant in the room, or what?” Valerie’s loud outburst silenced several of the conversations in the room. All eyes on her, she scowled. “That lottery motive’s scarier than Blake’s internet history, and it’s creepin’ me the fuck out! Are we just gonna pretend that shit doesn’t exist?!”  
Ignoring the jab at him, Blake nodded. “Yo, she’s right. What are we gonna do about that?”  
Anabel only shook her head. “Sadly, we can’t do anything at the moment. If Monokuma speaks the truth about this motive, the envelopes were delivered a few nights ago.” Warily gazing around at her classmates, she added under her breath, “I do hope that none of you are planning a murder.”  
Hearing that last bit, Jasper sighed. “Well, if any of the ticket bearers are actually considering this, today’s their last chance.”  
Carmen jabbed him in the stomach. “Don’t remind me,” she growled.  
Poppy forked a piece of lasagna into her mouth. “Well, I know that it’s surely not going to happen!” A warm smile spread across her face. “Because I know that all of you are super good people, and that none of you would even consider murder just because you were given an opportunity!”  
Tate noticeably shifted in their seat in discomfort. “Can we change the conversation topic?” they asked quietly. Murmurs of agreement rippled through the group, then Thomas spoke up.  
“So, training’s been going well,” he began. “Saffron’s just falling behind a bit, but he’ll catch up. The kid’s got determination.” The Botanist stuttered out a small thank you and continued to nibble on his lunch.  
Olive nodded and took a big sip of her juice. “Yep! We got a lot done last night. Hell, we’ve even got a plan of sorts!”  
Marion snorted. “What’s your plan? Run in and start punching the bear?”  
“I mean, that’ll be part of the plan eventually.” Olive smiled. “Don’t worry, just leave it to us. We’re gonna bust you all outta this hellhole once we all get strong enough!”  
Thomas peered over at Saffron’s plate. Upon noticing that he had hardly eaten, the Lacrosse Player frowned at him. “The first step to catching up and becoming stronger is to put on some pounds, kid.”  
Saffron looked up in surprise. “W-what? I don’t think I can eat a lot of food so quickly like that… I’m sorry.”  
“Well, you’ve gotta!” Much to Saffron’s dismay, the Lacrosse Player forked another piece of lasagna and reached over to drop it onto Saffron’s plate. He looked down at the large slice of food in discomfort, and slowly put it back onto the serving plate.  
“Apologies, but I just can’t.”  
Thomas groaned. “But I’m just trying to help you, bud!”  
Jasper let out a sigh. “Just stop. He doesn’t want to, you can’t force him to do anything.”  
Deciding that she’s already had enough of the bickering, Rowan tried to change the topic of conversation once more. Searching around for inspiration, her eyes landed on the isolated Puppeteer. “Marion! How have you been?”  
Penny turned to the boy. “Ooh, he’s going to say something negative and depressing again!”  
“Oh, it’s been pretty horrible,” Marion replied flatly. “Wandering around the woods gets boring after a while. I wouldn’t be surprised if someone else was getting bored of this camp, too. Maybe they’ll commit a murder. While it isn’t the greatest thing, at least it’ll spice things up around here. I want to see what’s the deal with that trial thing.” He paused. “If there even is a trial, I mean. Considering the motive and all.”  
Tate pinched the bridge of their nose. “I said, can we stop talking about murder?”  
Marion snorted. “Yeah, let’s not discuss murder while we’re trapped in a killing game. Let’s all just pretend to be oblivious to this life-threatening scenario because we’re all ignorant fucks, apparently.”  
The Seer beamed proudly. “The Great Penelope Claire’s predictions are always correct, see?” Carmen scoffed at her as she leaned over to take Saffron’s returned piece of lasagna from the serving plate.  
Rowan glared at the pessimistic boy. “You seriously can’t be saying that.”  
“Oh, but I am.” He took a sip from his fruit juice. “I mean, if we survive the trial, we’ll get to see what’s on the other side of the bridge. A win-win scenario, if you ask me.”  
“A win-win scenario?!” Rowan felt herself tensing up at his words. “How dare you! If we survive a trial, we’ll lose two of our dearest friends!”  
“Dearest friends? Do you really think I consider any of you as my friends?” He turned away. “And even if we do lose two people, one of them will have deserved it, anyway.”  
Olive drank more of her fruit juice and pointed the chewed up straw at the Puppeteer. “You’ve gotta learn when it’s time to shut your trap.” She shook her head. “You’re so insensitive.”  
Marion ignored her and took a last bite of his lasagna. “Excuse me,” he muttered, pushing the clean plate away. “I’m finished.” Without another word, he got up and walked out the door. A few moments of silence passed, then Jolie spoke up in an attempt to lighten up the mood.  
“I’d have to say, Jasper, this bracelet is stunning.” She held up the intricately crafted bead bracelet from the bracelet making session. “It’s impressive how someone with your talent can create such beautiful jewelry out of such mundane plastic beads.”  
Jasper smiled at her. “Well, I’m glad you like it.”  
Jolie nodded. “Of course! I am familiar with your work, you know. I’m sure you’re aware that I’ve worn some of your creations on the runway. I mentioned it last night at the campfire.”  
“Oh, yes. My father was hysterical when he saw that our crafts were recognized by one of the biggest fashion icons in America. It’s an honor, really.”  
Suddenly, Olive gasped and violently lurched forward in her seat. The attention of the group turned to her as her eyes grew wide and she clasped a hand over her mouth. She paled, and Rowan began frantically asking what was wrong and if she felt anything different. She didn’t respond— no, she couldn’t respond, and hurriedly got out of her seat and made a run for the door. Tate got up and turned to the group. “I’m going to see what’s up with her.” The Author then stacked their plate on top of Marion’s and promptly exited the dining hall in search for Olive.  
The thirteen remaining students exchanged looks, all unsure what to say. Poppy broke the silence. “Hopefully she’s alright,” she said. “She probably just had to puke or something.”  
“Or maybe, she was poisoned!” cut in Nolan. “Wouldn’t that be interesting?”  
Carmen pressed her hand against her forehead and scowled. “Oh my god, you’re just as bad as Marion.”  
Nolan cocked his head to the side. “Well, there are other possibilities too. For example, maybe Rowan’s food is just so bad that it can get people sick.”  
“Rowan’s food is heavenly, what are you saying?”  
Saffron took a small sip of his fruit juice and said, “I think it’s pretty good too.”  
Thomas shrugged. “It’s mediocre, really. But I guess it’s kinda impressive for a fourteen year old to have cooked this all up.”  
“It sure is!” cheered Poppy. “Rowan! Are you sure you aren’t the liar? You’re so good at cooking, I swear you could be the Super Stellar Chef!”  
Rowan grew flustered at the stream of compliments. “Ah, thank you all!” she said, a smile spreading across her face. That smile soon faltered as she remembered Olive. “But I’m seriously worried about Olive. I hope she’ll be alright.”  
“Do not fear!” cried Penny, waving her arms through the air. “The Great Penelope Claire has just had a vision! Olive will totally be okay, there’s no need to worry!”  
Elliot sighed. “Hopefully you’re right.”  
“What are you saying?” asked Penny. “I’m always right! Because I’m the—”  
“Because you’re the Great Penelope Claire.” The Angler turned to her. “We get it.”  
Penny quieted down, and the group continued to eat in silence. Most of the class had finished their food by now, and had started to bring the plates and cutlery to the kitchen for washing. As Rowan put the glasses away, she noticed that a few of her peers had not been able to finish the tall glasses of fruit juice she had prepared. She took the half filled glasses and put them aside for their owners to drink later if they wished. She turned and smiled when she saw that everyone was working together to clean up the meal. Poppy and Anabel were putting away the leftover lasagna, Thomas and Saffron had agreed to scrub the dining table, and Jolie and Jasper had dutifully started to wash the dirty dishes. She was glad that everyone was working together and becoming friends. Her eyes landed on Nolan, who was chasing poor Penny with a dripping wet mop. She winced. Almost everyone, she meant. She’d have to deal with the constant negativity and annoyances from a few of the boys, but she knew that they’d warm up to the group eventually.  
After all, they had the rest of their lives to befriend each other.  
She called out to Nolan to stop him from terrorizing Penny with the cleaning supplies and ordered him to get back to work. The Equestrian responded with a snarky “Whatever you say, mom!” and began using the mop for its intended purpose. She shook her head and began her stride to the kitchen to plan out dinner.  
A cry of surprise from Thomas stopped her in her tracks. Rowan whipped her head around to find that Saffron had gone pale and was already bolting out the door, both hands clasped over his mouth. Thomas followed suit, muttering curses under his breath. Rowan raised an eyebrow. “Is Saffron... also sick?” she asked tentatively. That was mildly suspicious, to say the least.  
Nolan, on the other hand, burst out in laughter. “Oh, man! Rowan, they must hate your cooking so much that it made them sick! Look what you’ve done!”  
Blake shook his head. “Man, dude. What have you got against Rowan?”  
The response was immediate. “Nothing,” he said plainly. “She’s just the kind of person who’s fun to mess with.”  
Carmen rolled her eyes and took over scrubbing duty at the table. “You’re so childish.”  
Ignoring Nolan’s remarks, Rowan said, “Don’t you all think that’s a bit suspicious? That they both got sick at the same time?”  
Poppy only shrugged. “I guess. I’d like to think that it’s nothing, though. Everyone gets a bit sick sometimes!”  
Jasper came out of the kitchen, his hands still covered in soap and water. “What happened?” he asked. Upon noticing the tense looks on everyone’s faces, he faltered. “Do I want to know?”  
Valerie just sighed. “Nah, it’s nothing. Since both Katniss Everdeen and Chicken Spice suddenly went paler than Smelliot over here, Rowan thinks that there’s some shit going on.”  
“Ignoring the nickname,” said Elliot, “Rowan’s right to think that something’s going on. We should watch our backs.”  
The class nodded and continued the cleaning, but the air in the room was tense. Was something sketchy really going on? Rowan didn’t like to think so. But maybe she was just being too paranoid. She watched her classmates as they continued working, and let out a sigh. These people were all good people. She could trust everyone here to work together and find a way out. There would be no murders. The only things to worry about were the identities of the liar and the mole— and once those two bad apples were singled out and eliminated, the group could work in perfect harmony.  
She liked to keep telling herself these things. Maybe if she kept repeating these naive statements to herself, she could trick herself into actually believing in them.

***

That night, all lights were dim except for the medical cabin’s. The other students had already done to bed much earlier, with the exception of Penny and Elliot. The pair was currently meditating in the grassy clearing, trying to unlock Elliot’s inner mage skills. Thomas was also supposed to be training at the time, but without Saffron and Olive there wasn’t much he could do. Those two would be spending an unfortunate night in the medical cabin, trying to heal with the help of the Super Stellar Pathologist. Nobody spoke to each other and just shut themselves in thought. They all knew it was no coincidence they had both gotten sick at the same time. Everything was off.

Rowan felt the tense mood in the air as she accompanied Olive and Saffron to the medical cabin. The two had been vomiting everything they tried to eat in the past couple hours, and their unsteady heartbeats and blood pressure weren’t exactly reassuring.  
It couldn’t have been a coincidence that the two had gotten sick at the exact same time. This was surely something planned— but how? Everybody had eaten Rowan’s cooking. Nobody could’ve snuck into the kitchen, she would’ve noticed them. Besides, the symptoms weren’t life threatening. Why make two people sick at the same time for no reason?  
Once the three arrived, Rowan insisted they get some rest. Monokuma soon arrived to bark at them for violating Camp Rule #4 (“No sleeping outside of the cabins, cretins!”), but the Pathologist was able to convince him that this was an important situation. After both of her patients were sound asleep, Rowan headed over to one of the cabinets to inspect the medicines that the camp had provided for them. As she was about to reshelve a small bottle of tablets, light flooded into the dark cabin, startling her. The door creaked open slightly, and Jasper poked his head inside. “Hey.” Rowan released the breath she was holding and put down the bottle.  
“Hello Jasper. You alright?” The Jeweler nodded and stepped inside, quickly setting a smoking hot bowl down on a nearby table. Rowan recognized it immediately as one of the bowls from the kitchen. “Oh, what did you bring?” she asked.  
Jasper turned to shut the door quietly behind him. “Oh, you know, just some soup for Saffron… unless that’s bad for him?” Rowan smiled sincerely and shook her head.  
“Oh, thank you Jasper. That’s very thoughtful. Except, er, Saffron has not been able to keep any food down since he got sick in the dining hall.” She turned to check on the sleeping patients. “Also, both him and Olive are currently asleep right now.”  
“Oh.” He scratched the back of his head and looked away. “Hm, this just got really awkward. Uh, then I guess… well, if he can’t eat it, then can I? Or would that be rude?”  
Rowan nodded. “Oh no, of course. You took the time to make it, after all. Will you be staying, or are you going back to go to bed now?”  
He sat down on the chair next to Olive’s bed and dipped a spoon in the warm chicken noodle soup. “Well, I suppose I could stay… just for a while.” The Pathologist smiled again and pressed her hand to Olive’s forehand.  
“Their body temperatures are still dangerously low…” she muttered under her breath. The medical cabin didn’t equip her with the best remedies, making her feel incredibly guilty when she couldn’t heal her friends right away. Jasper put the soup down and started pacing around the room.  
“Don’t you think any of this is strange? I mean, both of them. Sick. In the dining hall. In front of everybody. At the exact same time.” The Pathologist sighed. She didn’t like to think about it, but there was no doubt this was planned.  
“Unfortunately, I cannot deny the fact that this seems staged. It seems as if someone tried to harm them on purpose. But who?” Jasper shook his head.  
“It could’ve been anyone. Everybody was in that dining hall. Anybody could’ve slipped something in their food, or…” He sighed. “It’s just frustrating that we couldn’t prevent this. All we can do is hope that it isn’t a diversion of sorts to distract us for long enough for a murder to occur.”  
Rowan hated to admit it, but the chances of a murder were growing bigger and bigger. “Yes,” she said finally, “All we can do is hope.”  
Jasper nodded and returned to his seat. “Just going to finish this soup, then I’ll…” He yawned. “Then I’ll leave.” His gaze lingered towards the sleeping patients. “I just want to stay here for a bit longer in case anything… troubling happens.”  
“Oh no, I’ve got it all under control,” Rowan said. “Don’t worry, the symptoms don’t appear to be life threatening.” She stumbled on her words as she said, “It just seems like… like somebody poisoned them. Luckily the dosage wasn’t large enough to be fatal.”  
“Well,” Jasper said, sipping the soup from the spoon, “I hope we find out who did this to them.”  
“Best case scenario is that it wasn’t planned out and they just got sick by chance, but I doubt that’s the case here,” said Rowan. She huffed and took a seat near Jasper. “Don’t mind me, I’m just… somewhat disappointed in myself.”  
“It’s not your fault,” said Jasper immediately. “It’s the poison guy’s fault.”  
“No, but…” She sighed. “I was the one preparing the food. I’m always the one preparing the food. If I had taken better precautions before serving the food and watched everyone carefully, this wouldn’t have happened. And now I’m just… just so scared of the reality of this situation.” She shook her head. “Marion’s right, I have no idea how to lead this team. I could’ve done everything to prevent this.” A thought occurred to her, then she buried her face in her hands. “And if there’s a murder, suspicion will immediately be on me because I’m the one who prepares the food! This is a disaster.”  
“Rowan, look. None of this is your fault. You couldn’t prevent this, you had no idea this would happen. If someone... “ He hesitated. “If someone dies, I’ll vouch for your innocence if the others start ganging up on you in the trial. If it helps.”  
“Thanks. I’m not sure if they’d believe you, though.”  
“Rowan, you’re a good person. Everyone knows that you’d never kill anyone.” Jasper stirred the soup absentmindedly. “You shouldn’t worry too much about it.”  
“I suppose.” Rowan stood up and rounded the corner to Saffron’s bed. She gently placed her hand on his forehead, but withdrew it upon feeling how cold he was. “This isn’t good. Their body temperatures are so low and it’s scaring me.”  
Jasper looked up. “They’re still breathing, right? And you said the symptoms aren’t deadly, so honestly I wouldn’t worry too much about it. But hey, who’s the medical professional here?”  
Rowan turned to him. “You’re so… calm about everything. And I’m here worrying about murders and poison and… and it’s just stressing me out. How do you do it? How can you keep a level head in a situation like this?”  
The Jeweler only shrugged. “I ’unno. It’s just how I am, I guess.” He picked up the empty bowl of soup and began heading for the door. “Well, I’ll see you. Good luck with the treatment, doc.” 

He went for the door, but it burst open before he could touch the knob. He stumbled, then looked up to find that Jolie stood there. “Oh hey, Jo.”  
Jolie smiled. “Good evening, Jasper. Is anybody else here? I can’t see well in this dim lighting.” She peered into the room. “Rowan, dearie? Is that you?”  
“Yes, I’m here.” She approached Jolie and shook her hand. “Hello, Jolie. Are you also here to visit Saffron and Olive?”  
The Supermodel looked away. “Oh, no. I’ve never spoken to either of them.” Under her breath, she added, “I refuse to be seen with any forest loving ruffians. Anyway!” She clasped her hands together. “Do you have any bandages?”  
Rowan tilted her head. “What for?”  
“For Poppy, darling. She’s come down with a terrible rash.”  
“God, is everyone getting sick today?” muttered Jasper.  
“Do you know the cause of the rash?” pressed Rowan. “Could it possibly be a bug bite? Do you know if Poppy has a skin condition of sorts?”  
Jolie folded her arms. “The first one’s out of the question. There luckily aren’t any bugs in this campsite. As for the second, I’m unsure. But she thought that it was unnatural, so I’m assuming that she does not.”  
“Where is she right now? Is the rash severe?”  
“She’s in the lounge right now. She wanted to get a special night time bonus on one of the video game consoles, so I agreed to accompany her there due to your nighttime rules.” Jolie placed her finger on her chin in thought. “And, hm… as for the rash, she described a very itchy, burning sensation. It’s on her fingers and has spreaded a bit to the rest of her hands, so I’m trying to get some bandages and ointment to treat it.”  
Rowan sighed. “I’m… unsure about the origin of this rash. You’d have to bring her here to get it checked. Here.” She took a roll of bandages and some ointment and gave it to Jolie. “Put some on the rash and wrap the bandage around the infected areas, then bring her here. We have one more bed.”  
Jolie smiled and nodded. “Thank you, Rowan dear. You always care so much for all of us.” She turned to leave. “I’ll be be back shortly. Thank you.”  
With that, Jolie left. Jasper turned to Rowan and tipped his hat. “I’ll be off too. Night, Rowan.”

Jasper promptly left, and Rowan released a sigh. She headed over to the third bed and flopped down on it. She wasn’t sure if she was able to fix this. She wasn’t sure if a murder was going to happen. She wasn’t sure about anything anymore. She peered out the window, solemnly watching the trees blowing in the wind. Then, her eyes widened as she saw what looked to be the silhouette of a thinner boy sneaking through the forest. She immediately got up and squinted out the window, trying to make out the identity of the person. When she realized who it was, she raised an eyebrow.

“Is that Nolan…?”

***

Pacing up and down the cobblestone steps, Carmen pondered whether or not she was ready to die. It was no secret that Monokuma held their lives by a thin string, threatening to snap at any moment.  
She wanted to admit she knew what she was doing, but the truth was that she was just as scared as anybody else. This whole concept, the killing game, had to be a joke. None of her friends would kill. Carmen knew she wouldn’t, and mutual trust was crucial if they didn’t want to end up decapitated by a two-foot mechanic bear. She needed to take some action.  
Rowan had been hesitant to let her follow through with her plans. A few hours prior to dinner she had warned her over and over again to not threaten him, to control her temper, and so on. The Pathologist was the type of person who was protective of her friends and kept them safe. Carmen was the opposite of her, but somewhat similar at the same time. She wanted to protect her friends by fighting for them, and if that meant confronting her captor and risking death, well, it was a choice she’d made herself. Someone in this group had to be the one to step up, and Carmen didn’t see that happening anytime soon. The training trio were trying to help, but the Skier truly believed that those three were all bark and no bite. Half the students showed their fear in response to the situation, and the other half tried to stay positive. She was their median.

Once Carmen found an isolated spot in the thick forest, she glanced around to check if anybody had followed her. She suspected that Rowan would’ve come to check up on her, but she knew that the chances of that were slim due to her treating Saffron and Olive’s sudden illness. She stood there silently for a moment, the only sounds being the howling winds and the rustling leaves. She quietly pondered how one was supposed to summon Monokuma. Should she break a rule to grab his attention? Yell out his name? Deciding that the latter was a much safer option, she took a deep breath and called out his name.

“MONOKUMA!”

Her eyes darted around the bushes, checking for signs of movement. There were no signs of the strange bear anywhere. She let out a heavy sigh. Maybe her classmates were right. This was a stupid idea.

“How may I help you, kiddo?”

Carmen jumped and turned to find Monokuma standing behind her, a cheeky grin on his face. She groaned and pressed a finger to her temple. “Alright, let’s get this over with. I need to ask you a few questions, and you better give me some answers.”  
“Questions?” The camp counselor began skipping around Carmen gleefully. “Oh! Is this a pop quiz?” he singsonged. “Oh no! I haven’t studied! Ms. Laughrin, you’ll have to give me some time to cram!”  
Carmen grimaced at him. “Shut up. You know exactly what I’m talking about.”  
“No,” he replied plainly. “I don’t!”  
“You do, and you’re pissing me off.” She glared at the little bear. “Tell me. Who is controlling you?”  
“What do you mean?”  
“I mean, you’re a robot. There’s somebody controlling you. Who is this person?”  
“There isn’t a person!”  
“Then who’s controlling you? Who’s this mastermind?”  
“What’s a mastermind? I’ve never heard of it.”  
“For heaven’s sake, just tell me who you are!”  
“My name’s Monokuma! The best camp counselor you could ever ask for!”  
“Shut up!” Carmen stared daggers at the bear, who smiled pleasantly back up at her. It only irritated the Skier more, and she let out a sigh. “Look, this is getting nowhere. If you can’t answer this one, I’ll give you another one. Where are we?”  
“I can’t believe you’re dumb enough not to know that we’re in a summer camp.”  
Carmen shook her head. “No, that’s not what I meant. Where exactly are we? How did you get us here? I was sleeping in my hotel room and woke up here. How the hell did that happen?”  
“I’m not telling you! That’s confidential. You shouldn’t be so nosy, Carmy. Upupu!”  
“Don’t call me that. Just tell me where we are. Looks like we’re on an island or something. Did you take us here by boat?”  
“Maybe, maybe not!”  
The Skier frowned. It didn’t look like she’d be getting any answers out of him. For the next few minutes she fired question after question at the little bear, only for him to dodge each one and continue beating around the bush. With every answer Carmen grew angrier with her camp counselor, and after hearing the eleventh snarky response she decided that she’s had enough. “That’s it! I’m done!” She stamped her foot on the ground in frustration. “Please, just answer this. Just one goddamn question.”  
Monokuma smiled. “Alright, I’m listening.”  
“Why are you doing this? What is the point of the killing game? Hell, is this game even real, or are you just trying to scare us?”  
Monokuma paused for a second. “Hmm…” he muttered. “This game is real, I can assure you that. In fact, I’ve taken the time to build gruesome executions for each one of you in case you ever decide to commit murder. Oh, speaking of murder, it must almost be midnight!” He cackled. “You know what that means, right? That’s when the motive expires! Boo hoo hoo! Man, you’re all so boring! I would’ve expected a murder by now. That’d be super amusing! Then we can finally get this show on the road, baby!”  
Carmen blinked. “So are you telling me that you’re doing this shit for entertainment purposes?”  
“If you want to think of it that way, then sure! I’m doing this for my own entertainment. If that’s what you want to believe.”  
“That’s not a confirmation.”  
“It’s not! Hmph, all these questions are so nosy!”  
“I’m not being nosy. I just want some answers, you shitty bear.”  
“You know what?” Monokuma shook his paw at the Skier. “I’m done with you! I’m not telling you anything, no matter how much you try to pry it out of me! We’re done here, Laughrin!”  
“Wait, don’t leave yet! I still have questions, and… and…”  
He glared at her impatiently.. “And?”  
She took a deep breath and blurted out the first thing that came to mind. “Uh, fuck, do robots have di—” Carmen stopped herself, realizing it was pointless. Monokuma said it himself— he wasn’t going to tell her anything. Not even the answers to the most stupid questions. The bear ignored her and promptly disappeared back into the bushes. She cursed under her breath and kicked a nearby rock. Then she flopped on the ground and sighed. Her classmates were right. This was a bad idea. Nothing useful had come out of this experience. And now she was lost in the woods again in the middle of the night.  
A sudden thought came to her that she could potentially be in danger. She pulled her E-Handbook out of her bag and clicked it on to check the time. 11:42. That left 18 minutes before the motive expired. 18 minutes more, then anyone who wanted a free kill would be out of luck. But right now, the motive was still active. She stood up. The forest was dark— that made it easier for a murderer to creep up on her. She didn’t even have a weapon to defend herself if anything happened. She felt a bead of sweat forming upon her brow as her eyes darted around the forest in search for an opening or a landmark of sorts. God, why was this forest so dense? It was nigh impossible to navigate this place. Why couldn’t they have been trapped in an easier to navigate place, like a hotel or a cruise ship?

All of a sudden, a low voice came from behind her. “I’m going to kill you. Better run now.”

Carmen let out a piercing shriek and whipped her head around, slapping the mysterious person behind her. She didn’t have time to look at their face, but that didn’t matter much to her. She scrambled away from them, screaming the whole way. Maybe if somebody heard her screams, someone could come and save her. Oh god, this was happening. This was such a bad idea. Why didn’t she just listen to Rowan? Why was she being targeted, anyway? Thomas said she was a strong girl— nobody would go after her! Why was this happening? She continued running, but the trees and bushes were making it difficult for her to get away. She could hear the footsteps from behind her, but she didn’t dare look back. Then, she heard the footsteps drawing closer and closer, and she squeezed her eyes shut and braced herself. She was about to be murdered. This was how she was going to die. Then, a cold hand grabbed her shoulder, and it took everything she had not to scream again.

“So I’ve finally caught up to you.”

Carmen couldn’t say a word. She was paralyzed with fear. Her killer pressed their fingers against her neck. “Let’s get this over with quickly.” She braced herself for the sharp pain. Just get it over with already. She welcomed death. No point in running now.

Then, much to her relief, the person lifted their hands from her neck and burst into laughter. “Haha, just kidding! Oh man! You look terrified, Carcar! That was hilarious!” The fear inside her quickly disappeared when Carmen realized who it was. She turned to find her ‘killer’ in tears on the ground.

“Nolan, what the hell?” She folded her arms. “Gave me a fucking heart attack there.”  
Nolan grinned up at her. “Yeah, but it was funny!” He shook his head. “Man, if only there were some video cameras around here. I could’ve recorded your reaction and posted it online! I would’ve gone viral!” He rubbed against his cheek. “I mean, you slapped me though. And that hurt like hell.”  
“Not my fault. You had it coming.”  
He smirked. “I mean, you aren’t wrong.”  
Carmen sighed. “What are you doing out here in the middle of the night?” she asked.  
“Well, Rowan told us that we had to be with a partner if we went out during night! So I followed you to keep you safe!”  
“Keep me safe?” Carmen scoffed. “As if. Why are you really here?”  
“Well…” Nolan smiled at her. “I’m a curious man, Carmen! When I heard that you were heading out to confront Monokuma, I thought it was super cool! So I came to watch!”  
“Hold on, you were eavesdropping on us?”  
The Equestrian shrugged. “Well, yeah. That last question was rather thought provoking, by the way.” He smirked. “I’ve been wondering that myself. But why does the fact that I was eavesdropping matter? You didn’t get anything out of the bear anyway.”  
“I— ugh, you’re right.” Carmen sighed. “That bear’s useless. Keeps dodging all my questions. If we want answers, we’re gonna have to figure the mysteries of this camp out for ourselves.”  
“Okay, okay. You can save your detective work for tomorrow, Carmen Drew! But for now, you and I should head back to the cabins. After all,” he chuckled, “A real killer might be out to get ya!”  
“Oh, shut your trap.” Carmen turned to stare at the silhouettes of the trees. She shivered. “God, this place creeps me out now thanks to you. Now, let’s get a move on.”

***

Penny was always an early riser, despite her late night meditation sessions. She believed that each day should be lived to the fullest, and in order to do so one must wake up early to make the most of the morning. For the past few days, the sixteen students had met up at the dining hall every morning at 8 to have breakfast together. So, Penny had found that most of her peers tended to wake up at around 7:30. She, on the other hand, had set her alarm clock to ring every morning at 6. She went to bed every night at about 3, and was completely aware that 3 hours of sleep was not healthy for an average 14 year old. But she was no average 14 year old— she was the Great Penelope Claire! Sure, she was short and frail for her age due to the constant lack of sleep, but that didn’t matter when she had the power of the stars on her side. Anything is possible.

That morning, Penny woke up at the usual time. She glared at the beeping alarm clock and slammed on it hard, silencing it. She let out a huge yawn and stretched out her arms, smiling at the rising sun from her window. She knew that she got a bit less than her average 3 hours of sleep that night. She had stayed up an extra hour last night training Elliot to be the best mage he could be, and it was definitely worth it. That boy was on the right track to becoming a powerful wizard. And she knew this for sure, because she was the Great Penelope Claire and she knew almost everything for sure.  
But as great as Penelope Claire was, she still knew that she wasn’t great at everything. A few things that she wasn’t so great at was… almost everything else aside from divination. So, the Seer decided it would be beneficial to ask her peers about their talents. Perhaps, with a little guidance from the more talented folk, Penny could develop new talents and prove to everyone how great the Great Penelope Claire really was! She headed over to her dresser and picked up her hair brush and elastics. She then began to tie her long, ginger hair into her signature twin braids. The Great Penelope Claire wasn’t the Great Penelope Claire without her signature twin braids, after all. When she was done, she changed into her usual get up and headed outside her cabin. She knew exactly who to go to first.

The Seer marched up the steps to Elliot’s cabin and gave a swift knock against the wooden door. Peering inside the window, she could see that the tall boy was still sound asleep. She shook her head in disappointment, ready to turn back and find somebody else.  
But wait! The Great Penelope Claire never gives up! She’ll just have to knock louder to wake him up!  
So, she began pounding at the door until she saw the boy’s slim figure finally emerging from the covers. She watched as Elliot yawned and put on his glasses, then dragged himself over to the door. He pulled open the door and stared down at his visitor. He let out a groggy sigh and adjusted his glasses. “Penny… what do you want at this time in the night?”  
“Night?! It’s morning, dum-dum! Anyhoo, remember how I’m training you to become a mage?!”  
“All too well, yes.”  
Penny pumped her fists and looked up at the Angler with glee. “So, you’ve gotta pay me back by teaching me how to fish!” The tall boy sighed and turned to close the door.  
“Maybe later. Let me get some sleep first.” In response, Penny quickly pushed the door open again. Elliot stumbled back a bit in shock, then turned to glare at the small girl.  
“No!” protested Penny. “I know enough about fish to know that one of the best times to fish is early in the morning! So right now’s the perfect time!” She took his hand and began trying to drag him out of the cabin. “C’mon, c’mon, c’mon! It’s only fair!”  
Elliot groaned and pulled away from Penny’s grasp. “Fine, fine. Just hold on,” he muttered. “I need to get changed.”

Once Elliot had changed into his daily attire (“That getup is way too boring for a potentially powerful mage like you!” Penny had yelled. “Once we get out of here, I’m sending you to the finest robe tailors I know!”), the two of them began the hike to the shoreline.  
Penny effortlessly led the way, and Elliot peered at her in confusion. “How can you find your way around this maze of a camp?” he asked in awe.  
The Seer looked up to him with a smirk and swirled her hands about. “Well, I wake up every morning at 6, you know that?”  
“You do? Doesn’t that mean you only get about 3 hours of sl—”  
“Yes, yes I do! Anyway, I’ve been taking morning walks around the place. So I know where everything is!” She winked at the Angler. “Just let me know if you need any navigation help! I’ll gladly lead you anywhere!”  
“Mhm, okay.”

The two continued traversing through the thick forest until they finally came across the shoreline. Atop the horizon was the rising sun, and Penny basked in the morning sunlight. “Ahh, look how spectacularly beautiful this is!” she exclaimed, waving her arms out. “The gorgeous sunrise is my favorite part of my morning walks!”  
Elliot, on the other hand, shielded his eyes from the sun and groaned. “You wanted to learn how to fish, right?” He walked over to the broken down fishing shed and gestured for Penny to come over. “Then we’ll need some rods and bait first. We’ll likely find that all in here.” The Seer clasped her hands together and skipped over to the fishing shed.  
“Ooh! I am so very excited for my first lesson!”  
Elliot tilted his head. “First lesson?”  
“Of many! In exchange for my divination lessons every night!”  
“Every night? Are you saying that the past two nights of wizard training hasn’t been enough already?”  
“Hmm…? What did you expect?”  
Elliot was about to say something snarky, but he held his tongue and turned to the shed. “Anyway, let’s head inside.” He pushed against the door with all his might, but it didn’t budge. “Hm,” he muttered, taking a step back. “Seems to be jammed or something.”  
“Hm, hm! Let me try! The Great Penelope Claire will use her mystical powers to open up the forbidden doorway!”  
“Are you just going to try to kick it down agai—”  
“HIYAAAAH!”  
Penny kicked against the door with all her might, and yet the door still refused to open! Penny let out a sigh of defeat. “Oh… it seems that my abilities still aren’t enough.” She turned to Elliot. “You there! You have to use your magic powers to open this door! Just like you did at the reception office!”  
Elliot shook his head. “No, I picked that lock. I keep telling you that.” He gestured to the door. “This door doesn’t have a lock. It’s just… jammed.”  
“How about we combine our magical powers and push against the door at the same time?” suggested Penny. “Then, we might be able to get in and finally begin the fishing lesson!”  
Elliot sighed and began heading back to the cabins. “How about we head back to the cabins and get some sleep?” Before he could get too far, Penny grabbed his hand and pulled him back towards the shed. He let out a groan and turned to face the Seer. “Fine, fine. We’ll try.”  
So, the Angler and the Seer positioned themselves in front of the fishing shed doors and looked at each other. Penny nodded. “At the count of 3, push!” She turned back to the door. “One! Two! THREE!”  
The two pushed as hard as they could against the wooden door. Then, the door finally burst open. Penny had to balance herself to keep from stumbling over and falling. “Woohoo!” she exclaimed, pumping a fist in the air. “Now, let’s go grab the fishing rods!” Stepping over a broken fishing rod in front of the door, Penny began feeling the walls for a lightswitch.  
Elliot sniffed. “Hey, do you smell something?”  
“Kinda. Like, a metallic smell?” Penny continued her search for the lightswitch. “It’s probably just those metal fishing boxes in the back.”  
The Angler turned to her. “Let’s go.”  
“What?! Why?”  
“I don’t like this. There’s something bad here. Let’s go.”  
“The Great Penelope Claire thinks you’re overreacting!”  
“The Logical Elliot Rothberg thinks you’re being stubborn.”  
Penny turned to him, arms akimbo. “You’re just trying to get out of teaching me!” she cried. “But that’s okay! I’ll just learn to fish by myself!” She finally found the lightswitch and swiftly flicked it on. The shed was suddenly illuminated by a hanging lightbulb on the roof. “There we go!” exclaimed Penny. “Now, I’ll just go grab my—”  
Elliot suddenly grabbed her by the shoulder and pulled her back. “What?” asked Penny. Elliot shakily pointed towards the back of the shed in horror. Penny followed his finger only to see something absolutely horrifying. Her eyes widened. That was not a good sight. This was definitely not a good way to start off the day. She was about to let out an ear piercing shriek, but Elliot clasped his hands around her mouth before she could. Then, the tiny monitor at the back of the shed switched on and played out a small jingle.

*** DING DONG, DONG DING ***

Monokuma’s face appeared on the monitor, an unnerving smile on his face. “A body has been discovered!” exclaimed the bear gleefully. “Please report to the fishing shed post haste! Ooh, this is so exciting!”  
All Elliot and Penny could do was stand in horror at what they had found. Utter fear crept through them— they were too afraid to move, speak, or do anything. Frozen in silence, they could only wait until the rest of the class arrived.

About five minutes later, more of their classmates began filing into the shed. Once they saw it, the true horror of the killing game finally settled in. This was a very real situation, not just some fictional story. It wasn’t a prank. It was never a prank.  
The students looked at each other, terror in each of their eyes. It was one of them. One of them had murdered him. One of their peers was a cold hearted murderer.  
The class continued to look on in shock, curses and cries of terror being the only noises that filled the fishing shed. They couldn’t have saved him. Now, he was dead, and there was nothing anyone could do about it. They could only stare at the corpse, the lifeless corpse that once was Thomas Gourd, the Super Stellar Lacrosse Player.


	7. Chapter 1: Naivete and Paranoia (Deadly Life)

His body was propped up against the wall, a puddle of blood surrounding him. In his hand was a kitchen knife, the end of it stained red. Also near the body was a knocked over fishing kit, also splattered with the blood. As for his appearance, he looked like he had been through a scuffle. His dark hair was messy, as if he had just woken up. His jersey and shorts were quite dirty. To their confusion, he also wore a pair of gloves from the camp store. On his legs were several slashes, though it seemed that they weren’t deep enough to draw blood. In death, he looked strangely calm. It looked as if he was just taking a nap in a peculiar place. Save for all the blood.

The rest of the class continued to stand in shock, none of them knowing the appropriate way to react. The reality of their situation was sinking in quickly, and soon the emotion took over them. None of them were particularly good friends with Thomas, but it still hurt.

Upon seeing the body, Poppy’s usual bright smile faded. Valerie muttered curses under her breath and pressed her fingers against her forehead. She turned to Blake to see how he was faring, but let out a small squeal when she saw that the boy had fainted. Penny and Elliot continued to stand in fear, and Penny was on the verge of tears. She had never seen a dead body in her life, save for the ones she saw in her visions. Tate and Carmen were on the brink of going into a panic, but they held back knowing that panicking wouldn’t help their situation. Rowan’s eyes were filled with tears, and she had taken out a small handkerchief to wipe them away.

 

The rest of the class appeared to keep their composure, for the most part. Marion appeared almost bored, as if he was expecting this to happen. Anabel didn’t emote as much as the others, but one could see that a few beads of sweat had appeared above her brow. Nolan too stood silently, but he seemed ever so slightly amused, a small smirk appearing on his features. When Anabel noticed this, she grimaced and nudged him against his arm. Jasper appeared worried, his eyes widening and his arms crossed. He was able to keep his emotions under control, however, and was the first to speak up.

“Now what?” he asked, his voice slightly hoarse. He felt something brush against his leg, and he shuffled over to let Monokuma pass through. Upon seeing the bear, Carmen flew into a fury. So much for holding back the emotions.  
“You there! This is your fucking fault!” she cried, but Monokuma only ignored her to continue walking to the body. She glowered and began to approach him. “Are you just going to ignore us?”  
“No,” said Monokuma immediately. “This isn’t my fault! I didn’t kill him!” A sadistic grin crossed his face, and he stepped forward. “It was one of you! One of you sickos murdered poor Thomas Gourd! What a tragedy!” He paused, then brought his paws up to his mouth and laughed. “To you! To me, this situation’s a full on comedy! I’ll have fun watching you guys solve this one!”  
Carmen crossed her arms. “So you admit it, huh? This shit’s just for your entertainment.” She jabbed a finger at the bear, who stepped back with his paws up. “You sick freak.”  
Monokuma shook his head. “Now, now, enough of the name calling! You guys better get to investigating, because the trial’s going to start soon!” Upon hearing the word ‘trial’, many of the students paled as they remembered what Monokuma told them on their first day. This was now a matter of life and death— the innocents versus the blackened. Only one of these groups could return from the trial breathing, and the true horror sunk in. “You’ll get to investigate the crime scene and look around for clues,” continued Monokuma. “The investigation period ends when I get bored! Then it’s off to the trial you go! Upupupu!”  
“That’s fucked up!” spat Valerie, stepping forward. “None of us know shit about solving mysteries, and suddenly you put us in this life and death situation?!” She paused and gestured to Rowan. “I mean, Rowan might be of use, but aside from her we’re all fucked to hell and back!”  
Monokuma smirked. “Oh, dear miss Valerie! You really wouldn’t think I’d help you out a little bit? What good of a camp counselor would I be if I didn’t give you a tiny bit of help?” He snapped his fingers, and suddenly a jingle simultaneously played out of everyone’s E-Handbooks. A few students pulled the small devices out of their pockets and saw that a new application had been added. The icon depicted Monokuma’s face, the word FILE underneath it.  
Jolie raised an eyebrow. “What is this? How will it help us?”  
“It’s the Monokuma File! It’ll give you a bunch of details about the case! Check that out in your free time!” With that, he went for the exit again. “Anyway, I’ll leave that all up to you! Good luck, kids! Happy investigating!” With that, he was gone, and the class was left to deal with the situation.

“First of all,” started Rowan, her voice shaky. “Are we all here? All si—” She paused and sighed. “Are all fifteen of us present?”  
Jolie did a quick head count. “Thirteen,” she mumbled. “So no, not everyone’s here.”  
Rowan raised an eyebrow and recounted the group. “Hm. Who’s missing, then?”

Suddenly, the fishing shed door slammed open, the bright morning light flooding into the room. “What the fuck happened here?” cried Olive, pushing through the crowd. She stopped immediately when she saw the body, and her eyes began tearing up. “Wh-what… huh?!” She gestured to the body wildly, terror on her face. “H-h-how…the HELL did this happen? Whoever’s the fuckin’ killer, you’d better reveal yourself right now!”  
Then, a voice came from behind the door. “Should I stay outside?”  
Olive shook her head. “No, just… oh fuckin’ hell, Saffron, just stay outside.” She turned back to the gory scene and sighed. “Nobody wanted to see this.”  
“See what?” Saffron tentatively stepped inside the fishing shed. He let out a gasp when he saw the corpse, and started stumbling around as if about to faint. “Wh-wh-what is that?!” he cried, pointing to the corpse. “How did th-this happen?!”  
“None of us have any idea,” stated Anabel. “We’ll have to figure that out for ourselves.” She tapped on the new application and opened up the Monokuma File. “Now, let’s see what this says.”

MONOKUMA FILE #1  
The victim is Thomas Gourd, the Super Stellar Lacrosse Player. He is 5’7” and weighs roughly 135lbs. The time of death was roughly 10:15pm. The body was found in the fishing shed near the lakefront. The cause of death was a hard blow to the skull by a blunt object. He was also stabbed on the chest. There are thin cuts against his arms and legs. Death was instantaneous.

“So,” said Elliot, clicking the device off, “we’ve got a starting point here. We know the time and cause of death. That’ll surely be useful.”  
Marion scowled and stepped forward, his arms crossed. “So are we going to start investigating, or what?” he spat. “Our lives are on the fucking line here.”  
Rowan pressed her fingers against the bridge of her nose. “Sorry, I’m just…” She sighed. “I’m freaking out a bit here. But we should split up into groups and cover as much ground as possible. Get into groups of about three to four, then get investigating. Don’t leave a single rock unturned.” Then, she looked to the body solemnly. “I’ll… I’ll stay here and figure out what’s going on with the body.”  
“Hold on a second,” said Nolan, pointing an accusing finger at Rowan. “How can we be sure that you're not the culprit, hmm? You might try to tamper with the crime scene or some shit!” Jasper looked as if he was about to step in to defend Rowan, but she stopped him and took a deep breath.  
“Oh, you’re right. I am not the culprit— I would never think of doing something like this, but you’re right. We need to take extra precautions. One of you killed Thomas, so one of you is working against us. It’s gotten more difficult to trust each other.” She clasped her hands together. “Err, Elliot! Jolie! You’re with me. The rest of you group up and explore the camp. We need to hurry.” A round of nods and yeses went around the class as they began forming their groups. Rowan watched them intently as they did so— she wanted to know who was with who. She peered at Blake’s unconscious body. “And, um, could somebody shake Blake awake, please?”  
As if on cue, Valerie reentered the shed with a bucket of lake water in hand and a mischievous grin on her face. “Leave it to me.” With that, she laughed and dumped the tall bucket of water directly on the DJ, who was immediately jolted awake. He let out a loud gasp and looked around, then began babbling incoherent nonsense. Valerie smirked and threw the bucket to the side. “You’re welcome.”

Carmen was getting tired of the chitter chatter when they could be investigating. Quickly, she pulled Tate and Anabel with her as she went for the shed door. “Alright, Tate! Anabel! You’re my group! Now chop chop, people. Let’s get investigating already!”  
“Wait,” Tate stopped her. “We should all investigate an area— like when we explored on the first day.” They pressed their lips together, thinking. “Like, uh, Rowan, Jolie and Elliot are going to investigate the fishing shed and the lakeside. The rest of us can pick an area in the camp to check for clues. This way, we won’t waste time checking the same spots over and over again.”  
Anabel nodded. “Yes, I believe this would be the wisest way to investigate as much area as possible. Carmen, Tate, we can take the reception office.”  
“Yeah, yeah.” Carmen rolled her eyes and took them by the hands again. “Enough wasting time! Let’s get over to that reception office and see what’s good!” With that, the group bolted out the door. 

Eventually, the rest of the groups formed and began making plans as to where they were to investigate. Once that was settled, the rest of the class quickly left the fishing shed and headed out to their decided areas, leaving Rowan, Elliot and Jolie alone with the body. The Angler poked his head around, scanning the shelves for any further evidence of murder.   
“Nothing else looks out of the ordinary here,” he mumbled under his breath. “Perhaps we could investigate his body instead of the surroundings?” Elliot turned around, but felt something sharp stab his foot.  
“What the…?” Lifting his foot, he noticed a broken fishing rod below him. Rowan picked it up.  
“Where did this come from?” She frowned, inspecting the rod blank that had been snapped in two. “Hmm.” Jolie glanced over at the rod and stepped over the corpse’s arm. Rowan tapped her chin, thinking. “Elliot, did you notice anything suspicious when you and Penny entered this shed?”  
“Well, the door did seem like it was jammed. Kinda hard to get open. Both Penny and I had to try to push it open together.”   
“What if the rod was barricading the door, then?” Rowan grabbed another fishing rod off the wall and walked over to the double doors. She placed the rod firmly on top of the door’s handles. “See, this is a push door. If one were to put a fishing rod on the door, it could possibly be used as a barricade. A very weak one, sure. But it’s still a barricade.” The Pathologist took the rod off the handles and raised an eyebrow. “Wait, but that doesn’t make any sense. If the door was blocked, the killer and Thomas shouldn’t have been able to get in here in the first place. Looks like we’ve got a locked room mystery on our hands.”  
“The fishing rod looks identical to all of the over ones in the corner back there,” Jolie pointed out. “This means someone probably took it and purposely used it to try to prevent people from coming in. Although, they didn’t do a very good job. And hey, didn’t Jasper and someone else explore this shed on our first day here?”  
Elliot nodded. “Yeah, I think he went with Saffron. Jasper told me that the shed door was a little hard to open back then as well, but no mention of a fishing rod, or anything, blocking the door.”   
Rowan put the fishing rod back on the floor and looked over at the corpse. She made her way over to the bloody body and began inspecting it, much to Jolie’s disgust. The file said the cause of death was blunt force trauma— so perhaps she should direct her attention to his head. She peered at the top of it, and her eyes widened. “Guys, come look at this,” she said. “His injury. Where he was hit— it looks like it went extremely deep into his skull. There’s this… big, round dent. As if someone smashed something really, really hard on his head.” Her gaze wandered to the bloody fishing kit laying near the body. She hesitantly picked it up. Strangely heavy. The edge of the box was splattered with red, and tears formed in her eyes and she tried to swallow the lump in her throat. This was the weapon used to kill Thomas. She sniffed. She could never imagine that one of her friends would give in, that her worst fears would come true. Then, she wiped a tear off her cheek, put the box down and stood tall. No, this was the time to be the leader. She needed to show the others how they could stay strong through this terrible situation. Then, she noticed something else beside the body. “Hm…?” She picked it up and looked at it closely. It looked like a paper of sorts. Maybe it was a tissue? Rowan couldn’t figure out what exactly it was. She made a note of it and returned it to its original place.  
Elliot headed over and inspected the fishing kit at Thomas’s feet. Inside was some bait, extra line, hooks, bobbers… nothing seemed out of place in there.  
“How about we look at the lakeside now?” Jolie suggested. “It’s right outside, so if the fishing kit was used we could probably find some more evidence over there. They solemnly nodded and trudged over to the glimmering waters, but all looked peaceful and calm as a light breeze swept through Jolie’s hair. Rowan pressed two fingers to her temple.   
“I just don’t understand how this happened,” she muttered under her breath. “I thought we could be safe here, together… I should’ve been a better leader.” Jolie walked over to her and patted her back encouragingly.   
“Don’t worry, Rowan. We’ll try our very best to catch the culprit together. And you’re an amazing leader! None of this is your fault.”  
“She’s right, y’know.” Elliot joined in. “The only thing we can do now is try to beat the killer, and… well, hopefully this won’t happen again.” The Pathologist sighed and looked at the horizon.   
“You’re right, I’m… I apologize. I hate to be like this in front of everybody else. Stay positive, right?” Jolie smiled back at her. “That’s more like it. Now, it seems that we’ve checked out everything we could in the fishing shed. Let’s go see if we can find the others and discuss our findings.”

***

“So, what are we looking for exactly?” asked Jasper as he peered at the contents of the kitchen cupboard. He sighed and slammed the door shut. “There’s nothing here. Are you sure we aren’t wasting time, o great and powerful leader?”  
Marion scowled at him and began checking the fridge. “We’re looking for anything out of the ordinary. Some clues that might implicate somebody as the culprit.” He pushed a carton of milk and a stick of butter aside and began digging further into the fridge. “And no, we aren’t wasting time. Every corner of the camp should be explored to ensure that we don’t miss any vital clues.”  
“So we’re looking in the kitchen?”  
“Yes. I’m telling you, we’ll find something useful here.”  
Jasper rolled his eyes and began inspecting the utensil drawers. “Whatever you say, bud.”  
Marion sighed and closed the fridge door. “So, have we checked everywhere?”  
“I mean, we’ve spent the last ten minutes mulling over the stuff in the kitchen. So yeah, I think we’ve covered everything.” The Jeweler sighed and headed towards the kitchen door. “Anyway, I’m going to do something actually productive and help Penny investigate the dining hall.”  
Marion frowned. “Fine, fine. You go do whatever you want. Not my fault if we all die in the trial.” He hummed and returned to his thorough search of the kitchen. “As for me, I’ll continue my investigation of the kitchen. I just have a feeling that there’s something here.”  
“Alright, you do you.”

Jasper nodded at him and promptly headed out to the dining hall, where the Seer was supposed to be investigating. He raised an eyebrow as he watched Penny peering under the tables and chairs. “Hey,” he called, grabbing her attention. “What’re you looking for? Gum?”  
Penny poked her head out from under the table and shook her head. “Nope! I’m lookin’ for clues, silly!” She skipped over to the next table and leaned under it. “You see, my intuition just tells me that there’s something super useful in this dining hall! And I ought to find it!”  
Jasper blinked. “Yeah, alright. I’ll look around too. You’re a lot more cooperative than Marion, at least.”  
Penny beamed at him and gave a thumbs up. “Yes, yes! Help the Great Penelope Claire out a bit! There’s gotta be something good here!” She tried to get up from her position under the table, but bumped her head in her efforts. She groaned and rubbed against her forehead, then carefully rose from the floor. “Oh, I hope I didn’t knock anything over! That’d be totally terrible!”  
“Don’t worry, you didn’t.” Jasper approached the table and picked up one of the glasses there. It was half empty, and it seemed that Rowan had placed stickers on them to indicate whose glass it was. Jasper turned his cup over to find that it belonged to Elliot. “Hm. You think we should check these out?”  
Penny cocked her head to the side. “Huh? What could possibly be suspicious about those cups?”  
“I don’t know. You tell me, you’re the Seer.” Jasper paused, then turned to the small girl. “Hey, hold on a second. You’re the Seer.”  
“I sure am!” Penny beamed at him. “The greatest seer throughout the land! I’ve practiced witchcraft my whole life, and I’ve found myself to be particularly good at divination! Honestly, I’m surprised you just realized that now. I mean, I’ve been boasting about my sweet abilities ever since we got he—”  
Jasper stopped her. “No, I mean… you’re the Seer. You can predict the future and discover hidden possibilities, right?” When Penny nodded, he placed a hand on his chin. “So does that mean you could predict the identity of the culprit?”  
“Hmm…” mumbled Penny. “I could give it a shot! Do not fear, the Great Penelope Claire is here!”  
“Okay, okay, just… make it quick, okay? I’ll check these cups for anything suspicious.”  
“Cups? Suspicious?” Penny blew a raspberry at him. “C’mon, Jaspy. You’re crazy!”  
Ignoring the nickname, Jasper put down Elliot’s cup and picked up two more. Turning them over, Jasper found that these ones belonged to Saffron and Olive. Then, a thought came to him. “Hey…” he said slowly, holding the cups up. “What if somebody poisoned Saffron and Olive’s drinks? That could be why they got sick.”  
Penny paused. “Oh, I hate to admit it, but you might be onto something! Good job, Jaspy! Way to go!” She took Saffron’s glass and began sloshing the fruit juice around. “But like, this one’s only half full! Could half of this tiny cup really be enough to get him super sick like that?”  
“I’d think so… we should ask Rowan about this. She’d know better.” He sighed and put Olive’s cup down. “Hey, did you get any magical psychic results about the identity of the culprit yet?”  
Penny shook her head. “No can do. The stars must be withholding this information from me.”  
“The stars sound like assholes.”  
The Seer frowned at him and peered into Saffron’s cup again. “Hmm… oh! I have an idea to test the poison cup theory!” Before Jasper could inquire, she lifted the cup to her mouth and took a small sip. “Ahh… just as fruity and yummy as ever.”  
Jasper stared at her. “You do realize someone else’s lips have been on that cup, right?”  
“Shh, Jaspy. It’s for forensic science purposes.”  
“Since when were you a science person?”  
Before she could reply, she gasped and clasped her hands over her mouth. Jasper’s eyes widened. So his theory was correct. He took Penny by the arm and rushed her into the kitchen. Then, he slammed the door open and let Penny into the kitchen. Immediately, she ran to the sink and threw up the drink.  
Marion stared at them with wide eyes. “What the fuck is going on?” he spat, heading over to them. He sighed and gave Penny a paper towel to clean herself up with. “Jasper, what did you do?”  
Jasper shrugged. “Not my fault she gulped down Saffron’s poison drink.”  
“She— what?” Marion folded his arms. “You’d better explain this all to me right now.”  
“Alright, so Saffron and Olive came down with that illness yesterday because someone poisoned their fruit punch. I’m going to assume that someone is our culprit. Anyway, Penny decided to test out our theory and drank a bit of the juice herself.” He turned to Penny, who was disposing of the paper towel. “Hey Penny, you feeling okay now?”  
Penny turned and gave him a thumbs up. “Yep yep! I feel great! Just a bit woozy, but otherwise I’m fine!”  
Jasper crossed his arms. “Hmm… Tate told me that Olive began throwing up and experiencing horrible symptoms only a few minutes after drinking the juice. So the poison must not have affected you much because you only drank a small portion.”  
“That’s good to hear!” sang Penny. “And now we know the cause of Fairy Boy and Arrow Gal’s sicknesses! Hooray! We’ve done something productive!” She turned to Marion, a snide smile on her face. “So what did you find, hmm?”  
Marion gestured to the kitchen knives. “Well, one of the knives are missing. The biggest one, actually. So that confirms that the knife in the fishing shed came from the kitchen.” He turned to leave. “Let’s get going. We’re ready for the trial.”  
“What?” Penny stepped forward. “No we’re not. We’ve hardly found anything useful!”  
Marion shook his head and smiled. “Well, we’ve found just enough clues to prove that a certain Pathologist is behind this crime.”  
Jasper frowned at him. “Rowan isn’t the murderer.”  
“Look, you can believe whatever you want. But you’d have to agree that some of these clues implicate her, don’t you?” He smirked and began listing items off. “The kitchen knives, the poisoned drinks… and Rowan’s our team chef. I bet that her cheerful, motherly attitude’s just a facade, too.”  
The Jeweler shook his head and stepped forward. “No, I trust her. She would never do anything to hurt us.”  
Marion only shrugged at him and went for the door. “Well, I guess we’ll find the truth when the trial comes along, won’t we?” He smiled over his shoulder. “We’ll see just how far you’re willing to go to defend a murderer.”

***

“So, this has been a huge waste of time,” Valerie scowled as she ducked to avoid a swinging branch. “We’ve been wandering around for eighty bajillion years and there is nothing to be found! This is ridiculous.” Nolan chuckled at her. “Tired already, princess?” He smirked, and she stuck her tongue out at him in response.   
“Actually, I-I’m getting a little tired myself… Can we stop for j-just a moment?” Saffron said and paused to catch his breath. Valerie plopped down beside him on a big rock and fanned her dress out.   
“This is all useless!” she cried. “The forest is nowhere close to the fishing shed, which, mind you, was the place of the murder! Does nobody here have any common sense?!”  
Saffron spoke up. “Perhaps, instead of going around in circles, we could… discuss something else. Like, uh… alibis. W-we could figure out where everybody was at the time of the murder?” Very suddenly, Valerie slapped him on his back and laughed.  
“See, this squirt knows what he’s talkin’ about! Enough wandering. Let’s get down to the juicy stuff! Nolan! Where exactly were you last night at about 10 pm?” The Equestrian laughed heartily and sat down beside her.  
“Anything for you, Prom Queen! Ah, let’s see… I’m having a hard time remembering exactly where I was!” Then, he snapped his fingers and grinned. “Oh! I remember now. I was out in the forest, preparing to scare Carmen—”  
“Hold your horses!” Valerie raised an eyebrow at him. “You were outside at the time of the murder?!”  
Nolan waved his hand dismissively at her sudden comment. “Yeah, but I have a legit alibi and I have a witness! Now let me finish! Anyways, I remembered Carmen mentioning she was going to confront Monokuma. So, I thought, great. This is my one chance to prank her! She’s one of the only people I haven’t cracked yet! So I snuck behind her and listened to her conversation with Monokuma! He wouldn’t answer any of her questions, though. I also saw a hand sticking up in a nearby bush, but I decided not to investigate, because, you know, I was hiding! So just when she was leaving, I seized the opportunity, jumped behind her and whispered, “I’m going to kill you. Better run now.” She got so scared, she slapped me and ran! Anyways, after I revealed my secret identity we walked back to our cabins together and fell asleep. I think it was around 10:40 by then, so that’s my alibi.”   
Saffron sighed. “That seems like a pretty solid alibi.”   
Valerie stared at him. “Wait, you saw a fuckin’ hand in a bush? What the fuck, Nolan?”  
Nolan shrugged. “C’mon, you can’t blame a man for not investigating! I just thought I was seeing things. I was kinda sleepy, after all.”  
“Hmph! Well, here’s my alibi!” Valerie rubbed her hands together. “I’ve even got a witness, so that proves that I’m not a sicko murderer!”  
“Let’s hear it,” Nolan said with a grin.  
Valerie took a deep breath and began. “Okay, I was getting ready for bed at about 10, but then I thought about the motive and I just couldn’t sleep. So, I headed towards Blake’s cabin—” The Equestrian burst out laughing beside her. “What?!” she shouted, staring daggers at him. “What’s so fuckin’ funny?”  
“You got scared… so you went for Blake?! Out of all the guys here… you chose him?! What’d you guys do in there?” He wiggled his eyebrows at her.  
“It-it’s not what you think!” Valerie shot back quickly. “We just— we just talked! But, when I was walkin’ over, I remember seeing a person. Like, in the distance, in the forest somewhere, so, uh, I got a little freaked and ran over to his cabin. And we just talked for a while. When I was feelin’ a little better, I went back to bed, and by then it was also about 10:30. Good enough for you?!” she snapped. He held up his hands.  
“Well, if Saffron was sick, you were doing God-knows-what with Blake, and I was scaring Carmen, I guess that clears us up. We aren’t psycho murderers!” He smiled cheerfully.   
“I agree,” Saffron said. “If many people were with other people last night… we can clear a lot of suspicion through alibis, r-right? See, since Olive and I were together and Blake was with Valerie, that already eliminates five people from suspicion!”  
Valerie sighed and stood up. “Yep. Well, I guess we can head back now. Time to find out who’s gonna die.” Saffron and Nolan followed suit, but it wasn’t long until they discovered something else odd.

“H-hey, guys...?” Saffron stopped and pointed at something behind the bushes and a took a slow, cautious step towards the thicket.   
“What’cha looking what?” Nolan smiled as he pushed the leaves back, only to reveal a jacket and a paper bag with holes poked for eyes covered in blood and buried half in the dirt.  
“What the fuck?!” Valerie shouted as the pair held them up. “What’d you find? More clues?” She hurriedly ran towards them. “Isn’t that… that’s Carmen’s jacket!” She gasped.   
“This—this paper bag… I think it c-could’ve been used as a disguise,” Saffron muttered. “Holes for eyes… A-anybody could have used this to sneak around at night!” Nolan’s usual cheery smile faded as he inspected Carmen’s jacket.  
“At the end of the campfire… didn’t Carmen mention her jacket was missing? That means someone probably stole it from her last night, a few hours before the murder!” Valerie shook her head. “But everybody was at that campfire. This jacket doesn’t mean anything!”   
The Equestrian sighed. “But it is crucial evidence. Besides, Val— didn’t you see someone walking around outside while you snuck over to Blake’s cabin for some fun time?” She ignored the comment but nodded.   
“Yeah, I remember seeing a figure sneaking around at about a little after 10, but I couldn’t tell who it was from so far away. It still could’ve been anyone.”   
“Hmm…” Saffron pondered. “Valerie, where did you see this figure?”  
“Well— around here, actually.”  
“Well, then that confirms that someone probably used this jacket and disguise to sneak around, and that someone is probably the culprit.” Nolan brushed the dirt off Carmen’s jacket.  
“And it couldn’t have been Carmen, since she was confronting the silly bear.”  
“Which means,” Valerie realized. “The culprit stole Carmen’s jacket as a disguise and went to kill Thomas, and when they were done the dirty deed they ditched it here.”   
“Try saying that ten times fast,” Nolan said with a smile.  
Saffron trembled as he attempted to hold the jacket up without touching the blood. “I—I’ll see if Monokuma can wash this and return it to Carmen, I suppose.” Nolan picked up the paper bag.  
“We might as well keep this too. Maybe we can compare heads or something stupid like that.” Valerie nodded slowly. “Yeah, I guess. Let’s go find the others and look for more clues along the way. As Rowan said— don’t leave a single rock unturned.”

***

Carmen tentatively pushed the door of the reception office open and flicked on the lights. “What could we possibly find here?” she muttered as she strode in.  
“You’ll never know,” said Anabel. “We have to check every corner of this camp for clues. I don’t want to miss anything crucial.”  
Tate nodded and began poking around the reception hall. Everything seemed relatively normal. The floors were as polished as ever, the paintings hung perfectly straight on the wall and the paper cups on the water dispenser seemed undisturbed. Nothing out of the ordinary here. They let out a huff. “There’s nothing here,” they stated plainly. Then, they got an idea. “Hey, let’s talk alibis.”  
Anabel looked up and nodded. “Oh, good idea. Unfortunately I do not have a solid alibi. I was asleep at the time of the murder.”  
Tate hesitated. “I… was also asleep.” They sighed and pressed their fingers against their temples. “We’re going to have to defend ourselves in the trial or else we’ll be suspected for sure. And I really don’t want us to be mislead by the culprit…” Their eyes narrowed as they turned to look their companions in the eye. “Hold on a second. Is it one of you?”  
Carmen stared back at the Author. “What kind of question is that?”  
Tate shook their head and returned to investigating the area. “No, I just… I’m sorry. I just, uh, I’ve just always had a hard time trusting you all, and this…” They shivered. “This murder’s just making it harder for me to turn to anyone for help.”  
The Skier sighed and headed over to the smaller student. “Look, I know it’s getting hard to trust anyone. But if it helps, you can definitely trust me.” She smirked and pointed her thumbs at herself. “See, I’ve got a solid alibi!”  
Anabel raised an eyebrow. “Do tell.”  
“Alright!” Carmen placed a hand on her chin as she tried to recall the events from the night before. “So, I was out in the forest confronting Monokuma about the killing game shit. And you may be thinking, hey! That’s not a solid alibi! I was alone! Well, you’re wrong there. Turns out, our resident horse lovin’ little shit was eavesdropping on me.” She scowled. “Then he scared the living hell out of me!” she cried a little too loudly. “Can you believe this son of a bitch?” She took a deep breath and regained her composure. “So as much as I hate to admit it, Nolan’s my witness. He better back me up in the trial.”  
The Attorney sighed. “At least you have a decent alibi.”  
Carmen nodded. “Yeah! I’m super trustworthy, don’t worry!” Then, she leaned over to Tate and added under her breath, “The one we’ve gotta be suspicious of here’s probably Anabel. She’s scary as hell!”  
“What was that, Laughrin?”  
Carmen jumped and turned to find that Anabel was standing directly behind her. “How did you get here so fast without me noticing?!” she spat. She shook her head. “Lawyers are scary.”

Tate’s gaze wandered to the computer. “Hey… maybe we should check out the lounge?” Quickly, they walked over to the computer and sat at the chair. They tapped on the power button and was immediately met with the red text on the front screen.

**ENTER PASSWORD.**

**They furrowed their brow. Last time they went to the lounge, Olive had entered in the password for them. They didn’t go there often, and thus they had no idea what the password was. They looked up at their companions, who were busy checking behind the paintings and the couches. “Hey, uh, do any of you remember the password?” Anabel strode over to the computer and bit her lip.  
“I… don’t. Apologies.” She put a hand on her chin and stepped back. “Although, I do remember it was something idiotic and obvious. I can’t put my finger on it…”  
“Oh come on!” Carmen scowled. “You were the one who investigated this place! Can’t believe you forgot it already!”  
Anabel glared at her. “I do not go here often. Oh, the password’s right at the tip of my tongue…”  
The Author began punching in passwords. “Something idiotic and obvious… let me in?”**

****WRONG PASSWORD. PLEASE TRY AGAIN.** **

**“Please let me in?”**

****WRONG PASSWORD. PLEASE TRY AGAIN.** **

**“Uh… password?”**

****ACCESS GRANTED.** **

**Tate turned and saw the fountain splitting and revealing a staircase. “Oh,” they mumbled, hopping off the chair. “Didn’t expect that to work.” They turned and gestured to Anabel and Carmen to follow them. “Come on. There might be something down here.”  
Anabel rolled her eyes and headed towards the staircase. “See? It was something stupid.”  
The trio travelled down the dark staircase, making sure to avoid the moss and grime growing on the stone walls. After what seemed like forever, the steel door for the lounge came into view. Tate smiled and hurried down the stairs. They slowly opened the door, and the bright lights of the lounge flooded into the dark stairwell.  
The lounge appeared as pristine as ever. A few of the beanbags were still scattered around from the friendship bracelet session, but other than that everything seemed in place. Anabel slowly approached the table, her footsteps echoing throughout the room. On the table was what seemed to be some ointment, a pair of scissors and a few bandages. She picked up the tube of ointment and squinted at the label. Carmen walked over to her and peeked over her shoulder. “What’s that?” she asked.  
“Rash ointment. It seems to be from the medical cabin.” She shook her head and put the tube down. “Why is this here?”  
“Beats me,” mumbled Carmen, picking up a strip of bandages.**

**Tate bit their lip as they began to scratch their fingers. They stared at the tips of their fingers, which had turned flaky and red within minutes. They groaned and continued to scratch in an attempt to relieve the itch. Carmen, noticing that something was up, headed over to her. “Hey, what happened?” She got a look at Tate’s fingers and winced. “Oh man. Where’d that come from?"  
“No idea,” muttered Tate, rubbing their fingers against the side of their pants. “The itch started when we were heading down the stairwell, but I didn’t notice how red it’s gotten until now.”  
“Here,” said Anabel. “Hold out your fingers. I found some rash ointment here.” Tate complied and closed their eyes as the Attorney began applying the ointment to their fingers. “It’s a little strange, honestly,” she mumbled. “It’s very convenient that we found this ointment at the exact time you got a rash.” Tate nodded, and Anabel finished applying the ointment. “Carmen.” The Skier looked up. “Pass me some bandages.” She did, then Anabel began carefully wrapping them around Tate’s fingers. “There we go. Try not to itch so much, now.”  
“Thanks,” said Tate, shoving their hands in their pockets to suppress the itch. “But yeah, you’re right. It’s just so convenient. Wonder who brought that here.”**

**Carmen sighed and went for the stairwell. “Anyway, there’s nothing here. This was a waste of time. Let’s go find the others.” Though they were disappointed that they haven’t found anything useful, Tate and Anabel nodded and followed Carmen up the stairs.**

*******

**“Blake, what on Earth are you doing?” Poppy asked him as he paced around the campfire, analyzing each of the rocks very carefully.  
“Well, my dudette, it just so happens that our dear leader Rowan has instructed us not to leave a single rock unturned. So, I am inspecting the rocks around the campfire and making sure they are, in fact, upturned and investigated properly, yo.” He picked a smaller one up and twirled it in his hands. “What are you doing, Poppy?”   
“I’m just looking around here, seeing if the culprit or victim dropped any clues in the grass,” she responded. “You never know what clues you miss in plain sight.” He nodded. “You do the details, I’ll do the taking stuff literally, and er— Olive, what are you doing?” The Archer sighed slowly and looked up at the sky.   
“I’m looking around the bushes for any clues, I guess. Ugh, I just feel so useless in all this. I was sick during the murder, and I’m not the smartest. I wish I could do something more.”   
“Oh, Olive, don’t think like that. You’re very important to the class. I mean, you’re like one of the toughest people here! I mean, if you hadn’t helped Thomas and Saffron train—”  
“AHHHH!” The two were interrupted by Blake’s high-pitched scream as he dropped a rock with a heavy thump. Rushing over to him to discover what had caused him such alarm, Olive accidentally stepped on something hard in the grass, hurting her foot.   
“Ow! What the hell was what?!” She picked up what appeared to be a small beaded bracelet.   
“Hey, Poppy? Blake? What’s this doing here?” Olive slipped it onto her wrist and ran to catch up with the others. “Oh my god— what is that?” Blake shook his head and sighed.  
“I picked up the rock, only to find these creepy ass googly eyes staring back at me! And when I turned it over, there was blood!” he shouted, trying to shake the image out of his head. “I don’t handle blood good, yo! When I saw Thomas I fainted! I give up! The rock-turning life is not for me, nuh uh!” Poppy attempted to soothe him, but then noticed the bracelet on Olive’s arm.  
“Olive, where’d you get that?” she asked with a puzzled expression. “If I recall correctly, I gave that bracelet to Thomas!” Olive gasped and looked at the rock and then back to the beads. “If Thomas was wearing this before he died, that means he must’ve dropped it here!” Blake shook his head.   
“Yo, but those bracelets fit everybody perfectly. Like, you couldn’t shake them off. If you wanted to take them off, you’d have to fix the clasp.” Olive tapped her chin.   
“But if Thomas was murdered in the shed, that wouldn’t make any sense,” she pointed out. “More mystery to add to this stupid case. And what about this rock— Dwayne, was it? Half of it is covered in dried blood!” Blake stood up and inspected the bracelet.   
“The strings are a bit looser than usual,” he shrugged. “Maybe this did slip off and we’re just making a big deal out of nothing.” Poppy shook her head. “No, this bracelet and rock are extremely important evidence. We’d better bring all this up to the others at the trial.” The Engineer sighed and began to place the rock back in its original position, but noticed another strange phenomenon. The grass where the rock once sat was burned.   
“Hey, guys. Check this out,” she said and pointed towards the burned area. “Somehow, the grass was burned here. We didn’t notice this before because the rock was covering it, but don’t you think it’s weird? How the only grass burned is covered by the only rock covered in blood?” Blake nodded.   
“This is the only weird rock, yo. All the others ones were already upturned and fine. The grass looked fine too,” he replied. Suddenly, he noticed that Poppy’s finger had a bandage wrapped around it. “Hey, dudette, what happened to your finger?” Poppy glanced down at it and blushed.   
“Well, actually— it has to do with my alibi. Jolie and I were trying to get into the lounge last night at about 9:45. See, I wanted to get the nighttime bonus on one of the arcade machines there! If I get there and play at exactly 10:00, I’ll get a sweet legendary weapon for my avatar! But… I forgot the password to the computer because Elliot usually enters it for me. It took me a couple tries, but eventually I got in. But after a while, I noticed my fingers were getting really itchy and I was starting to get a rash on them. So, I called for Jolie and asked her to get me some bandages and ointment from the medical cabin.” She took a deep breath, and continued. “They were feeling a lot better after that! So after playin’ for about half an hour more I headed back to bed. By the time I was back it was about 10:45. So, that’s why I’m not the murderer.” Olive nodded.  
“Well, that’s a good alibi. You got a witness and everything. Obviously I was sick and sleeping, so it’s Blake’s turn. Where were you last night?” The DJ’s face turned a bright shade of red when he heard her and stammered out his response.  
“Well— er, I was getting ready to bed at about 10. Changed into my jammies and everything. But then, just after 10, I heard a knock on my door. And when I opened it, I saw Valerie—” Poppy raised an eyebrow at him. “It’s not what you think!” he cried in defense. “We just sat and talked. She was a little freaked out about how the motive was gonna end that night and shit, so we just talked it out for a while. When she was feeling better, she went back to bed and that was at about 10:30. So, there. Both me and Valerie have alibis and are witnesses for each other.” He finished confidently. Poppy bit her lip.   
“But if it’s not one of us, then it’s someone else. And we all have witnesses too. Everybody’s going to claim to have an alibi, and the people who don’t have witnesses are gonna look extra guilty!” She let out a groan and placed the bloody rock back its place.   
“God, this is going to be so much harder than it looks.” Olive nodded. “I guess we’ll just have to stick together. Do some sleuthin’ and figure out the real traitor in all this mess.”**

**Then suddenly, an alarm played out of the E-Handbooks, and the trio promptly took theirs out. A video feed of Monokuma had appeared on the screen, and he certainly looked very excited. “Times up, kiddos!” he cackled. “Get your asses over to the campfire so we can get this show started!” With that, the feed shut off and the three students glanced at each other with worried expressions. It was time.**

**They took their seats at the logs and waited for the rest of the class to trickle in. Exchanging looks of uncertainty as the rest of their classmates arrived, most of them felt that they didn’t have a good grip on the case. Others were a bit more composed, deep in thought about the clues they’d discovered and possible suspects. Once everyone arrived, Monokuma appeared once more out of the fire with a grin.**

**“Finally! It’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for, folks!” he exclaimed. “It’s time for your very first, and hopefully not your last, camp trial!”  
Anabel’s eyes narrowed as she surveyed her classmates’ expressions. “So are we going to begin?” she asked. “Is the trial going to take place right here?”  
Monokuma shook his head. “Nonsense! This campfire isn’t fit for a proper trial! Hell, there’s not even an execution chamber!” A few people shivered at the mention of an execution, but Monokuma continued. “Everyone, get off the logs and stand back!” The students reluctantly obliged, then Monokuma took out a small controller and tapped the red button. “It’s showtime, baby!”**

**Then, the sound of whirring gears and machinery filled the area. Slowly, the campfire and the logs around it began lifting up from the ground, revealing what appeared to be an elevator. Then with a gush of steam, the doors opened. The students looked at each other fearfully, then hesitantly entered. Once all fifteen were inside, the doors slammed shut and the elevator began to descend.**

**The ride was long. Nobody spoke a word, and their eyes were all glued to their feet. Tensions were high in the air, and nobody wanted to think about what was going to come next. Then after what seemed like forever, the elevator finally came to a halt. The creaky metal gates slowly opened to reveal a grandiose courtroom. The flooring resembled a giant checkerboard, and was sparkling clean. Dark red curtains draped from the ceiling, and behind one of the curtains the students could make out a large metal door. Sixteen podiums in a circle were placed in the centre of the room, and in front of it was a large throne for Monokuma himself. Behind one of the podiums stood a framed portrait of Thomas, his eyes ominously crossed out with crude drawings of lacrosse sticks. The camp counselor was seated atop the throne, bouncing in excitement for the trial. “Alright!” he screeched. “Find the podium with your name on it and get to your places!” As the students reluctantly positioned themselves at their stands, Monokuma beat a gavel off his throne and cackled.**

**“Let the first camp trial begin!”**


	8. Chapter 1: Naivete and Paranoia (CAMP TRIAL)

MONOKUMA: “Welcome to the first of many camp trials! The fifteen of you will debate the identity of the killer until I get bored! Then once it’s voting time, you’ll get the opportunity to vote for the person most likely to be the killer! Remember, if the majority gets it right, the killer will solely be executed. But… if the majority gets it wrong, then tough luck! The only person breathing tonight will be the killer! So… what are you waiting for? Let’s get going!”  
VALERIE: “First of all, I’d like to ask Monokuma something.”  
MONOKUMA: “Huh? Go ahead! I’ll answer any question as long as it doesn’t reveal the identity of the killer!”  
VALERIE: “What the fuck is up with this creepy ass photo of Thomas?! Nolan can draw better lacrosse sticks than that, and that’s saying something!”  
NOLAN: “It’s true.”  
MONOKUMA: “Shut up! I’m not the Super Stellar Artist, mind you!”  
VALERIE: “So what’s the point of this shit? It’s right next to me and it’s creeping me the fuck out.”  
TATE: “At least it’s beside you and you don’t have to stare at it all the time. The photo’s directly across from me.”  
VALERIE: “W-well… it’s still unsettling as shit! Take it away!”  
MONOKUMA: “You can’t tell me what to do!”  
OLIVE: “Wait, what is the point of that photo?”  
MONOKUMA: “Hmm…? It’s simple! I just wanted dear Thomas to join us for the trial. This photo here is a way to include him, even if he isn’t physically here!”  
MARION: “We’re wasting time. Let’s stop bickering about Thomas’s stupid picture and start discussing how he died. I already have a few ideas, anyway...  
ROWAN: “Okay, everyone. Let’s put our heads together and get through this.”  
POPPY: “I still can’t believe this is a real thing…”  
ANABEL: "For time's sake, I suggest we collect all clues and evidence first. Then we can listen to alibis and narrow down suspects based on who was where, when."  
MARION: "No need. We all know who the killer really is."  
PENNY: “Huh? You do? How could this be…? I don’t even know who the killer is! Gasp! Marion, are you a wizard too?!”  
MARION: “No, what? What the fuck? No. You don’t need psychic powers to know that there’s only one possibility to the culprit’s identity! Poor, sweet Thomas… he didn’t deserve that. Rowan Auguste! How could you?”  
JASPER: "Rowan isn't the murderer."  
MARION: “Hm…? Do you have evidence to back up your claims, or are you seriously protecting a known murderer like an idiot? Look. Let’s think about the circumstances that led to Thomas’s death. Saffron and Olive were poisoned by Rowan’s fruit juice, right? This left Thomas alone at the campfire— it was all a distraction! And she's the only one who cooks the food for us. Nobody else was in the kitchen at the time. She easily could have slipped poison into their cups!”  
JASPER: “It’s impossible for Rowan to have poisoned the fruit juice. During meals, Rowan lets us pour our own juice. That means that our culprit must have poisoned Saffron and Olive during lunch. Rowan couldn’t have poisoned the entire pitcher of juice— that would poison everyone. If memory serves right, Rowan sits quite far from those two. There’s no way she could have poisoned them without them noticing!”  
MARION: “That’s an idiotic argument. Here’s another point— how would you explain the missing kitchen knife? The biggest one was stolen, in fact. Rowan could have easily stolen that. She’s in the kitchen very often. At the night of the murder, she was out at the medical cabin alone. That means that she could have easily snuck out to kill Thomas!”  
JASPER: “Anybody could've stolen a knife at anytime that day. The kitchen’s open all times of the day. Plus, I have proof that Rowan was indeed taking care of them in the cabin at the time. I visited her to bring soup, and we talked for a while. I'm her witness, and she's mine.”  
BLAKE: “You just got owned, bro! Eyy, Jasper! Up top!”  
JASPER: “You are so far away from me.”  
ROWAN: "Thank you for backing me up, Jasper. He is correct. I couldn't poison Saffron and Olive, or I would've poisoned everybody. And I stayed with Jasper and Jolie for a bit right before the murder. There would've been no time for me to kill him, even if I wanted to."  
MARION: “Fine. I’ll hold off.”  
ANABEL: “Hold on. I didn’t know Jolie was present at the medical cabin.”  
JOLIE: “Oh, I can assure you that I was just there to get some bandages and ointment for little Poppy over here! You see, we had both gone down to the lair so she could collect her bonus prize on her silly little video games, but then she got a rash. So, she stayed while I went. I returned after a few minutes, anyway."  
ANABEL: "I see.”  
POPPY: “I can confirm! Yeah, I got a rash, see? It isn’t as bad as it was yesterday, thanks to the ointment and bandages I used."  
JASPER: "See, Marion? Your points are invalid."  
MARION: “Yeah, yeah. I get it. But if Tree Girl didn't murder Tough Tommy, who did?"  
JASPER: “Man, you really do have an arsenal of nicknames at the ready.”  
MARION: “Shut up, Assper.”  
JASPER: “Ah, there’s another one.”  
ANABEL: "We're getting distracted. We’ve ruled out Poppy, Rowan and Jolie. For now, at least. If more evidence comes up later, we might have to draw our attentions back to them. So, what else did we discover during investigation?"  
ELLIOT: “We should discuss the actual scene of the crime. The fishing shed, I mean. Jolie, Rowan and I investigated that."  
ROWAN: "Yes, we discovered several things. A fishing rod from the back of the shed was blocking the door— the killer probably was intending for it to be used as a barricade."  
JOLIE: "It still doesn't make any sense, though. Neither the killer or Thomas would've been able to get in our out."  
ELLIOT: "Jasper said the fishing door was always a little hard to open. Maybe the fishing rod was there as a diversion."  
BLAKE: "Or maybe there's a cool ass magician doggy door at the back of the shed!"  
NOLAN: “Ooh, maybe Penny knows about that one. She’s a faux magician, right? Hey Penny! Do you know anything about doggy doors?”  
PENNY: “No, I do not! I’ve only ever had a cat!”  
ROWAN: "The dog door idea’s unlikely… the whole shed seemed like it was about to fall apart. A hidden door at the back would've been extremely hard to disguise as well.”  
ELLIOT: “Yes, we would’ve noticed it.”  
JOLIE: "Rowan also noticed something to do with Thomas's body, right?"  
ROWAN: "Since the cause of death was blunt force trauma, I inspected his skull and saw that there was this… dent in it. As if someone took something very heavy and smashed it on top of his head."  
CARMEN: "Well, we know that's the fishing kit. It's pretty big and would've dented anybody's head, even Thomas."  
ELLIOT: "There was blood splattered at the side of the fishing kit."  
JASPER: "So that's the murder weapon. At least we know something."  
ROWAN: "Hold on. There was also some small white cloth next to the body. It looked like it was ripped out from something. Could that be linked to any other evidence?"  
JOLIE: "Doesn't seem like it. That's more random than anything. Perhaps the killer dropped it by accident?"  
ELLIOT: "Probably. Well, that's all we found in the shed. Sorry it doesn't help much."  
ANABEL: "Let's move on to another location, then. Carmen, Tate and I investigated the camp reception office, but found nothing and investigated the lounge instead."  
TATE: “Uh, we found some rash ointment and a few strips of bandages. I guess that confirms Jolie and Poppy’s alibi.”  
CARMEN: "It's weird, though. Tate got a rash trying to get into the lounge too."  
TATE: “Yeah, yeah. I got really itchy around the fingers after heading into the lounge.”  
PENNY: “Hold on! Don’t you think that might be important? Poppy got a rash too, so…”  
NOLAN: “You tell me! You’re the Seer!”  
VALERIE: “That shit’s not important! They got a rash because we’re in a shitty fucking summer camp! I always get rashes whenever I go to one of these.”  
BLAKE: “Yeah, the bugs are little bitches. I don’t want no damn rashes, I just wanna have fun.”  
ELLIOT: “There aren’t any bugs here, though. Thankfully.”  
MONOKUMA: “Hmm… maybe I should’ve added in a few mosquitoes. Then maybe you kids would stop being so cheerful all the time.”  
VALERIE: “Oh, hell no."  
MONOKUMA: “Oooh! That could be a motive for later! Think about it… every day that goes by without a death, I’ll release a new swarm of mosquitoes into the camp. Wouldn’t that be fun?”  
VALERIE: “Oh, hell no!”  
MONOKUMA: “Upupupu! You’re making me want to actually do it!”  
VALERIE: “You malignant mammal! You baneful bear! You fuckin’ unwholesome Ursidae!”  
JASPER: “Hm. Your vocabulary increases tenfold when you get angry.”  
ROWAN: “Anyway, I think we should look into the rash issue a bit later. Let’s get all our evidence out on the table where we all can see it first.”  
ANABEL: "Agreed. Who's next? I believe we still have a few more groups remaining.”  
NOLAN: “Alright, folks. You’ll never believe this, but we’ve got the evidence that’ll solve this whole case. We’ve got the defining evidence, so y’all better back down and let us speak.”  
MARION: "Shocker."  
VALERIE: "We discovered some nasty shit."  
SAFFRON: "That's one way to put it…"  
POPPY: “Well? Spill the beans!”  
NOLAN: “We found Carmen’s nasty ass jacket in the bushes! It was covered in blood and shit, too!”  
CARMEN: “Excuse you, my jacket is fucking gorgeous.”  
NOLAN: “Aww, stop lying to yourself. It’s hideous.”  
ROWAN: "Carmen, why was your jacket found covered in blood in the forest?"  
CARMEN: “Don’t ask me. I lost one of my jackets at the campfire, so anything could’ve happened to it.”  
ELLIOT: "So someone stole your jacket to try and frame you?"  
CARMEN: “I guess?”  
NOLAN: “Hey, hey! We can’t just dismiss that so easily! Think about it. What if Carmen killed Thomas, then is using the whole lost jacket thing as an excuse to why her jacket’s all bloody?”  
CARMEN: "Wait a fucking minute. Aren't you my witness? Besides, ask the other people who were beside me at the campfire. I lost it."  
NOLAN: “Your… witness? Sorry, Carmen. I didn’t see you all night.”  
CARMEN: “Oh, you son of a bitch. You saw me, and I saw you. Stop making this so hard.”  
NOLAN: “Huh? You must be mistaking me for someone else…”  
CARMEN: “You do realize that I’m your witness too, right? If you deny ever meeting me, you won't have a fucking alibi, genius."  
NOLAN: “Well, I don’t need an alibi! Everyone knows I’m just a sweet, innocent guy who’d never harm anyone on purpose. I’d never kill anyone!”  
MARION: “In what universe are you a sweet, innocent guy?”  
ANABEL: "So, that settles it. Nolan's lying. He definitely met up with Carmen."  
NOLAN: "Aw, you guys don't believe me?”  
VALERIE: "When did we ever?"  
NOLAN: “Anyway, there’s still the possibility that Carmen went out afterwards and killed Thomas! It’s still mighty suspicious that her jacket’s all covered in blood!”  
MARION: “Idiot. Carmen’s not the culprit, you’re just an asshole.”  
NOLAN: “I’m an asshole? Look who’s talking! Anyway, show me some proof that Carmen’s bloody jacket doesn’t mean anything, then maybe I’ll stop.”  
MARION: “Alright, look. Why would the culprit dispose of the jacket in the bushes?”  
NOLAN: “Carmen disposed it there because in the spur of the moment, she needed to hide the body! I bet that she was going to go pick it up the next morning, but by then the body was discovered and it was too late!”  
CARMEN: “Fuck you! I didn’t do it.”  
MARION: “No, that’s impossible. If it really was Carmen, she’d call up Monokuma immediately and get the jacket cleaned up. Isn’t it obvious? The culprit left the jacket there to frame Carmen, and that’s the end of it.”  
NOLAN: “Aww. You guys never listen to any of my genius murder ideas.”  
VALERIE: “Like, what the hell, Nolan? Earlier, we were just talking about how the culprit used Carmen’s jacket as a disguise. Suddenly, you’re throwing out crazy ass accusations against Carmen as if you somehow forgot everything that happened in the last half hour. So what the hell?”  
SAFFRON: “Y-yeah… we even found a paper bag with holes punched in it. It’s… it’s undeniable that the jacket and bag were used as a disguise.”  
NOLAN: “What? I’m just tryin’ to spice things up a bit.”  
CARMEN: “It’s not helping. If you don’t have anything helpful to add, just shut up.”  
NOLAN: “Monokuma said that the trial ends when he gets bored. I wanted to start some shit and keep this entertaining for our judge. I know that Carmen’s not the culprit— I’m her witness, after all. I just wanted to keep this thing interesting by throwing out a few accusations and getting some conversations started.”  
ANABEL: “It’s not interesting, it’s annoying.”  
ELLIOT: “We’re wasting time. So Carmen’s not the culprit, and someone stole her jacket during the campfire. Does anyone remember who was seated near Carmen during the campfire?”  
JASPER: “Nope.”  
PENNY: “Sorry!”  
TATE: “I can’t recall.”  
NOLAN: “Anyway… if you guys wanted actual helpful information, I’ve got some. Last night, I saw an unconscious hand sticking out of a bush.”  
ANABEL: “What? Why didn’t you mention this earlier?”  
BLAKE: “Are you sure it was actually a hand, dude? Like, a human hand?”  
NOLAN: “Yeah, I’m pretty sure. I even touched it to make sure.”  
JOLIE: “Ew.”  
POPPY: “Hm… could that have been the body?”  
ELLIOT: “Maybe. It could also have been the killer hiding. Nolan, was it a girl’s hand or a boy’s hand?”  
NOLAN: “A guy’s hand, I think.”  
ELLIOT: “Alright, that could be a lead.”  
JOLIE: “But Thomas’s body was found in the fishing shed and the door was barred. Why would the body be in the bushes…?”  
BLAKE: “Yeah, Jo’s right. Thomas was killed in the fishing shed, right? Why would his body be out there? Yo, what if that wasn’t Thomas’s body? What if he was just, uh, sleepin’ or some shit?”  
TATE: “That makes no sense… what if Thomas was killed somewhere else, then his body was moved to the shed?”  
JOLIE: “No, no, that’s impossible… the scene of the crime was all blood splattered. There was a fishing rod blocking the door. Thomas was definitely killed in the fishing shed, dear.”  
TATE: “It’s not impossible. Uh, what if the fishing rod is a red herring?”  
VALERIE: “A what now?”  
TATE: “A red herring. Like, it’s not a real clue. It was put there just to confuse us.”  
VALERIE: “Eh? So was the door really locked, or not?”  
TATE: “I’m suspecting that it wasn’t. What if the killer just broke the fishing rod in advance, then placed it in front of the door?”  
PENNY: “Hmm… then explain why the door was so tough to get open! Elliot and I are powerful mages, and yet it took our combined strength to open it!”  
JASPER: “The door’s just tough to open in general. Monokuma can confirm this.”  
MONOKUMA: “That’s right!”  
TATE: “See? So, it’s possible that someone wanted to make us think that the murder took place in the fishing shed, when really it was somewhere else.”  
POPPY: “So the killer just… broke the fishing rod and placed it in front of the door to trick us? But who could be strong enough to break a fishing rod with just their hands?”  
VALERIE: “Unless someone here’s a secret fucking bodybuilder, that’s impossible! Hell, the only people who could even do that kinda thing would be Thomas, Carmen or Olive. But one of them’s a fucking corpse and the other two have alibis!”  
JASPER: “Actually… I remember seeing a really worn out and old fishing rod near the docks. It was really thin, so it looked like it’d be easier to snap.”  
TATE: “There we go.”  
ANABEL: “So do we all agree? The killer planted the fishing rod there in an attempt to trick us into thinking this was a locked room mystery?”  
ROWAN: “It seems to be so.”  
MONOKUMA: “Y’know, this really does remind me of a certain double murder case in another killing game I hosted years ago! Upupupu… you’re all so unoriginal. You’re just stealing other murderer’s ideas!”  
ELLIOT: “Excuse me, did you say that other killing games exist?”  
MONOKUMA: “Shush! You shouldn’t be worrying about that right now. C’mon, c’mon! Keep trying to solve the mystery!”  
ROWAN: “Let’s go over what we have so far. Thomas was killed elsewhere, his body was likely hidden in a bush for the time being, then it was moved to the fishing shed later in the night. Then, the killer placed a broken fishing rod on the floor to make us think that the door was barred.”  
TATE: “Exactly.”  
CARMEN: “Wait. What if Thomas did die in the fishing shed?”  
JASPER: “We literally just talked about how Thomas was killed somewhere else.”  
CARMEN: “No, no, listen to me. There was so much blood splattered everywhere at the crime scene, right? If Thomas was killed somewhere else, then why the hell isn’t there blood anywhere else?”  
SAFFRON: “Ah, good point…”  
CARMEN: “Maybe that hand that Nolan touched was someone else’s. But it wasn’t Thomas’s— the blood at the crime scene proves it!”  
ELLIOT: “Then let’s hear your idea of how Thomas died.”  
CARMEN: “I know this sounds a ‘lil bit far fetched, but what if Thomas wasn’t murdered at all?”  
BLAKE: “Um, excuse me, girl. The fuckin’ bloody ass corpse was right there. I fainted and everything, and now you’re sayin’ that the guy might be alive?”  
CARMEN: “I’m not saying that he’s alive, idiot. What if his ‘murder’ was an accident?”  
ANABEL: “Keep going. Elaborate.”  
CARMEN: “Think about it. The shelves in the fishing shed are all creaky, like they’re about to break. What if Thomas just walked into the fishing shed, then a shelf broke and a fishing kit fell on his head? It fits in with the cause of death.”  
POPPY: “Ouch.”  
ANABEL: “No, I’m going to stop you there. That’s impossible. The fact that the fishing rod was even placed there in the first place implies that there is someone who wanted to throw us off. If the murder was really an accident, then why would Thomas place the broken fishing rod there? There’s no point.”  
CARMEN: “Aw, you’re right. Sorry ‘bout that. Let’s keep going.”  
BLAKE: “Wait, yo. What if it was a suicide?”  
ANABEL: “What? Where did that idea even come from?”  
BLAKE: “What if Thomas locked himself in with the intent to kill himself? There was a knife found at the shed, right? But before he could… BAM! A fishing rod fell on his head!”  
OLIVE: “Bullshit. The guy has no reason to kill himself.”  
BLAKE: “Uh, Olive. You never know what people are going through on the inside.”  
OLIVE: “Okay, look. Thomas was super fucking strong and kept making shitty jokes about who’d die first. I just don’t think he’d do it. He wouldn’t want to be the first victim.”  
SAFFRON: "During training, he— he did make lots of points about fighting to escape. He w-wouldn’t just give up on life like that…”  
BLAKE: “Fine, fine. You’ve got a point, homie. Anyone else got some clues, or can I pull out my trump card?”  
ROWAN: “Your… trump card?”  
PENNY: “Anyhoo, it’s our turn! As we all know, poor Saffron and Olive were poisoned by Rowan’s fruit juice! But as Jasper demonstrated earlier, Rowan totally couldn’t have done it! So in the Great Penelope Claire’s opinion, we should be figuring out who poisoned the fruit juice! The person who poisoned the fruit juice is surely the culprit we’re looking for!”  
NOLAN: “Again, why can’t you just use your magical seer powers to find the culprit immediately?”  
PENNY: “Ugh! I’m telling you, I’ve been trying! But… but…. I’m stressed! I can’t focus on anything!”  
NOLAN: “I’m disappointed in you, Penny. You could’ve saved everyone, but I guess your powers are just not strong enough to find something as simple as the name of the killer.”  
PENNY: “Stop! Stop it! Stop saying things like that!”  
JASPER: “Anyway, almost anyone could’ve slipped poison into their drinks.”  
JOLIE: “Hold on. With what exactly were they poisoned with? I don’t recall seeing any poisons in the camp.”  
OLIVE: "It wouldn't be something super obvious or else everybody would've known. Maybe we were poisoned by something that's not, like, meant to be harmful. Something subtle and unsuspecting."  
ROWAN: "If I can recall correctly, your symptoms were vomiting, blurry vision, cold body temperatures and general weakness... what could’ve caused that in the camp?”  
ANABEL: “We shouldn’t be focusing on that right now. What poisoned Saffron and Olive is not important— the point is that they were poisoned. We should be working to find the identity of our killer instead.”  
ROWAN: “What if the identity of our killer is linked to the poison?”  
ANABEL: “Unlikely. But if you want to keep debating this, go ahead. Tick tock, Rowan. Our lives are on the line.”  
ROWAN: “... Fine. Let’s focus on more clues. Blake, Olive, Poppy? Did you find anything interesting at the campfire?”  
POPPY: "As a matter of fact, yes. I found Thomas's old friendship bracelet lying in the grass."  
JASPER: "Wait, what?  
POPPY: "The ones I made for all of you. I don't know if it's a lead, but it was there."  
BLAKE: “I found some messed up shit, yo! Jasper, brace yourself for the horrors I’m about to tell you!”  
JASPER: “It can’t be that bad.”  
BLAKE: “I found your pet rock covered with blood.”  
JASPER: “Gasp. Which one of you bastards hurt my son?”  
ROWAN: “Wait, the rock was covered with blood?"  
BLAKE: “You heard me, girl.”  
TATE: “There, that settles it. Thomas was killed somewhere else. Why else would there be blood on the rock?"  
ROWAN: "Perhaps it was a diversion to distract us from the fishing shed itself?"  
MARION: "For once, I agree. Tough Tommy probably just dropped his bracelet by accident."  
OLIVE: "Hold on a second. There was also something else. Under the bloody rock, the grass underneath it was burned a bit.”  
JASPER: "Dwayne didn't deserve this."  
ELLIOT: "But that doesn't explain the blood. If it's not Thomas's, whose is it?"  
VALERIE: "Maybe the killer fucking injured themselves in the process and seized the opportunity!"  
JOLIE: "But… then the killer would be obviously bleeding. We would've been able to tell right away."  
BLAKE: "Okay, everybody strip down to your last layer. I'm inspecting everyone from head to toe."  
VALERIE: “What the fuck?”  
JASPER: “I spent so much time this morning putting my clothes on, and now you’re telling me to take them back off?”  
MONOKUMA: “Order! Order in the court! There will be no stripping in the court!”  
BLAKE: “I never thought I’d hear that sentence in my life.”  
MARION: "Coming from you."  
ROWAN: "Anyways! I think it's safe to assume the blood is Thomas's. None of you got injured last night, correct?"  
ANABEL: "Hm. Maybe the culprit injured Thomas beforehand to distract us and then moved him to the shed."  
POPPY: But then the whole area would've been bloody. And there would've been a trail leading from the campfire to the shed."  
ANABEL: "True."  
CARMEN: "I think we're missing something here. Are we sure we have all the evidence? Because all we know for sure right now is that Thomas wasn't murdered in the shed, and that's not much of a lead."  
OLIVE: "Seems like we've hit rock bottom."  
ANABEL: "Not quite yet. We still haven't discussed alibis. They could help us distinguish the people who were definitely unable to kill Thomas."9  
ROWAN: "How about we go around in our circle and see who has solid points? I'll go first."  
BLAKE: "Sounds cool, yo."  
ROWAN: "I was caring for Olive and Saffron in the medical cabin at the time. I have two witnesses— Jasper and Jolie. Jasper stopped by to generously give me some soup for our sick classmates, and Jolie came to get bandages for Poppy's rash."  
TATE: "That seems like a pretty solid alibi."  
CARMEN: "Guess I'm up next. As I mentioned earlier, I was off confronting Monokuma. He didn't answer any questions, by the way. I was just leaving when Nolan decided to scare me by sneaking up behind me and pretending to kill me. The dumbass is my witness, unfortunately."  
NOLAN: "Hey! I can hear you, meanie!"  
ANABEL: "Nolan, is this true? Did you attempt to… prank Carmen by pretending to kill her?"  
NOLAN: "Alright, you got me. I was hiding behind a bush while she was confronting Monokuma, and just when she started to leave I crept up behind her to scare her. Car-Car turned pretty white, too!"  
CARMEN: "I'm starting to wish you really did kill me."  
NOLAN: "Nonsense! It was a pleasure witnessing you, bestie. The slap in the face was worth it."  
VALERIE: "She slapped you in the face? Nice."  
CARMEN: "Whatever. Self-defense."  
JASPER: "I'm guessing it's my turn now. As Rowan already said, I was bringing soup to the medical cabin. I'm cleared. Next?"  
NOLAN: "What kind of soup was it?"  
JASPER: "Why the hell does it matter?"  
NOLAN: "If it was alphabet soup, you could've sent her a secret message!"  
VALERIE: "I'm just going to ignore him and go on with my alibi."  
OLIVE: "Good call."  
VALERIE: "So, the same thing I told Nolan and Saffron at investigation and probably what Blake told Olive and Poppy. I was with him."  
NOLAN: "They were shaboinking in his cabin! They were gettin’ it on!”  
VALERIE: "We so were not!"  
BLAKE: "We were just talkin', my dude. That doesn't matter anyways, we witnessed each other. We're clear."  
NOLAN: "Or… you pretended to talk in his cabin when you were actually off killing Thomas together!"  
ELLIOT: "Just lay off it already, Nolan."  
MARION: "Well, since Tommy here is dead, I'll go. I was asleep."  
TATE: "That's it?"  
MARION: "Yes, that's it. Why, did you see me prancing about the forest at midnight?"  
NOLAN: That just sounds a tad bit suspicious, though…"  
MARION: "If I was the dumbass killer, I would've come up with a better alibi than sleeping."  
ANABEL: "Marion is correct. His alibi cannot be proved or disapproved. For now, let us move on."  
ELLIOT: "Well, I've got an alibi. I was meditating with Penny."  
PENNY: "Yuperdoodles! Elliot here is becoming a great mage! I really see true potential—"  
ELLIOT: "Yeah, yeah. Anyways, that covers us for about three hours."  
JASPER: "Geez, three hours?”  
PENNY: "Becoming a mage requires rigorous training!"  
ANABEL: "... Let's move on. I was asleep as well."  
ROWAN: "At least some people are getting a healthy amount of sleep. You all need at least nine hours each night! This is unhealthy!"  
TATE: "I've pulled too many all-nighters to count."  
ROWAN: "We need to talk."  
NOLAN: "Hey, is it my turn yet? I've been waiting for an eternity to say something!"  
MARION: "It has been two minutes since you have said your last snarky comment."  
NOLAN: "Aw, so you do pay attention to me!"  
CARMEN: "Nolan, you're already cleared by me."  
NOLAN: "But I wanted to say my alibi all mysteriously and dramatically! You're all a bunch of party-poopers."  
POPPY: "I think I'll go. I was in the lounge, waiting for Jolie to return with the bandages from the medical cabin."  
JOLIE: "She's right."  
ANABEL: "Cleared. Saffron was sick and Jolie was fetching bandages, so I assume we can skip these two. Tate, name your alibi."  
TATE: "I was sleeping, unfortunately."  
ROWAN: "Surprisingly."  
ANABEL: "So if Penny was meditating, Blake was with Valerie and Olive was sick… that brings us back to Rowan. One of us is lying."  
BLAKE: "Ooh, shit just got real."  
MARION: "Well, obviously the killer is trying to get us sidetracked. They're working against us to make sure we don't figure this mess out. There's something we have wrong, something that doesn't add up."  
ROWAN: "Let's go over what we know for sure. Thomas was not killed in the fishing shed, and the rod was broken and placed there was a diversion. He was smashed on the head with a fishing kit, and in the pool of blood surrounding him there was the biggest kitchen knife and a small white cloth."  
ANABEL: "Saffron and Olive were poisoned in the dining hall during lunch, probably to get Thomas alone at his training session. Someone is trying to frame Carmen, as her jacket was missing at the campfire and turned up at investigation drenched in blood along with a paper mask with poked eye holes."  
MARION: "Wait. I just realized something. Elliot and Penny discovered Thomas's body this morning, right?"  
ELLIOT: "Yup."  
MARION: "But the body discovery announcement plays only after three people have found it. So if they were the second and third, which one of you idiots was first?"  
BLAKE: "... And we're back at square one."  
POPPY: "Don't think like that! I'm sure the solution is simple. Since the killer obviously doesn't count, someone probably saw the body by accident."  
TATE: "How do you look at a body by accident?"  
POPPY: "Maybe when they saw it, they didn't know it was a body."  
ANABEL: "Unlikely. The body would've been covered in blood and extremely noticeable."  
MARION: "Then maybe someone saw the body and decided not to mention it."  
VALERIE: "What kinda fucked up person here would do that?"  
MARION: "It's a possibility."  
ANABEL: "Hm. Countering Poppy, what if the person who saw the body saw it on purpose to lead us off track?"  
JOLIE: "Are you saying… the culprit might have an accomplice?"  
ANABEL: "Exactly. Since the killer doesn't count, their accomplice would've seen the body. Add Elliot and Penny, it all adds up."  
ELLIOT: "I don't believe two people are working against us. No way."  
NOLAN: "Well, let's think. Who in their alibi only has one witness? Oh, that's right— Me, Carmen, Blake, Valerie, Elliot, Penny, Jolie, Poppy… everybody's a suspect! Joy!”  
ELLIOT: “It just doesn’t make sense. There’s no point in having an accomplice— in fact, it’s more of a risk than anything. Even if one were to agree to help someone commit a murder, they wouldn’t gain anything from it.”  
JASPER: “Hey, Monokuma. I have a question.”  
MONOKUMA: “Go for it!”  
JASPER: “What qualifies as ‘seeing the body’? How much of it would you have to see to count for the body discovery announcement?”  
MONOKUMA: “Well… you don’t have to see the entire body. As long as you notice a part of the corpse’s body, it’ll count.”  
JASPER: “Hmm…”  
ROWAN: “What is it?”  
JASPER: “Nolan, didn’t you say something about seeing a hand in the bushes?”  
NOLAN: “Yep. Why?”  
JASPER: “Good news, everyone. I found our first body finder.”  
JOLIE: “Wait… so Nolan touched a corpse’s hand?”  
VALERIE: “Ew! You got some nasty necrophilia shit goin' on that I don't wanna be a part of!  
NOLAN: "Wow! Well, that's one less bucket list item I don't have to worry about!"  
ANABEL: "Hold on. If Nolan saw Thomas's hand sticking up from a bush and was counted as the first person, that means he would've already been dead. Someone killed him somewhere else, hid him in a bush and then moved him to a fake crime scene later in the night.”  
BLAKE: "Ay, now this case is getting juicy!"  
ROWAN: "Blake, someone died!"  
ELLIOT: "Well, I guess this would explain how Nolan said it was a guy's hand he held hands with.  
NOLAN: "Hey, I didn't hold hands with the dead hand! I just, you know, touched it!"  
ELLIOT: "Whatever you say, bud."  
PENNY: "So… Elliot and I weren't the first people to see the body? Thomas was murdered somewhere else?"  
ROWAN: "I'm afraid so. The killer might've meant for that to happen, or they might not have and this is all a surprise to them. Either way, we still need to figure out where Thomas was murdered, how he was murdered, and who murdered him.  
OLIVE: "So, everything."  
ANABEL: "Not necessarily— we already know who couldn't possibly be the culprit, and part of how they did it."  
BLAKE: "Yo Monokuma, can we have a time check yet? All this standing around is making my feet tired. If I were shorter and couldn't reach the podium I could've at least had a chair."  
MONOKUMA: "Nope! You have to spend your time at this trial until you figure out who murdered our dear friend!”  
BLAKE: “Alright, yo. I’m gettin’ real sick of standin’ around. I say we interrogate the quiet people.”  
ANABEL: “Please. There’s no sense in that.”  
BLAKE: “If it works in Werewolf and Mafia, it works in here.”  
ANABEL: "Your logical is very questionable. Are we sure he's a Super Stellar?"  
BLAKE: "Well, now you're just bullying me! Alright, who hasn’t spoken in forever?”  
ANABEL: “I’m telling you, you’re getting nowhere and wasting time.”  
BLAKE: “So… Saffron.”  
SAFFRON: “Huh? Hi.”  
BLAKE: “Do tell… where were you during the time of the murder, hm?”  
OLIVE: “Holy fucking shit. You really are more idiotic than you look."  
BLAKE: "What?! I'm questioning the quiet kids!"  
SAFFRON: "Er… I was sick. I was being taken care of at the medical cabin, a-and—“  
ELLIOT: “You don’t have to explain, literally everyone with a brain knows that.”  
BLAKE: “Interesting, interesting. So, homie. Are you… hiding anything?”  
SAFFRON: “N-n-no! I’m not! I’m innocent! I swear!”  
JASPER: “Aw, don’t answer like that now.”  
BLAKE: “Sounds like the words of a liar.”  
ANABEL: “Let it go, Blake. Saffron’s been proven innocent.”  
VALERIE: “Kid can’t even muster the courage to say fuck, and you think he could murder a fuckin’ muscleman like Thomas?”  
SAFFRON: “H-hey! I could say… I could say frick if I really wanted to.”  
JASPER: “No, that’s a lie. You’re physically unable to say fuck.”  
BLAKE: “Yo, I don’t think Saffron did it, alright? Lay off. I just thought he might have something he’d want to share. Do you?”  
SAFFRON: “N-no… I don’t.”  
OLIVE: “Yeah, we don’t! Lay off and get back to discussin’ the important shit already!”  
ELLIOT: “We…?”  
BLAKE: “Olive, I didn’t ask you anything.”  
OLIVE: “So? I just wanted to say that we don’t know anything more than you do. So stop wastin’ time interrogatin’ us and get back to the case!”  
ROWAN: “Blake, they were sick and asleep at the time. It’s impossible for them to have been involved in the case.”  
BLAKE: “Hmph. Saffron, are you sure you don’t know anything?”  
SAFFRON: “P-positive! I don’t know anything that you don’t!”  
BLAKE: “Do you know anything about the bloody rock? How about the fruit juice poison? Or the white cloth? Yo, how about the stolen kitchen knife?”  
SAFFRON: “Stop it! P-please… stop it with the questions! I-I don’t know anything!”  
BLAKE: “How about the figure that Val saw out near the campfire? How about… how about Poppy and Tate’s rashes?”  
SAFFRON: “I! Don’t! Know! Anything! P-p-please… just stop asking! Stop it! I d-didn’t do anything!”  
BLAKE: “Why you so tense, yo? I’m just askin’ if you know anything related to the ca—“  
SAFFRON: “I t-t-told you! I haven’t d-done anything! Stop it! Stop asking! I d-don’t know anything else! Ugghhh!!”  
JASPER: “Blake, shut up! You’re giving him a damn panic attack, for crying out loud.”  
ANABEL: “No, he’s onto something. Let him keep asking Saffron questions.”  
JASPER: “And just let Saffron die like that? He’s so obviously freaking over being interrogated, just stop making him feel uncomfortable.”  
ANABEL: “If anything, Saffron’s being too sensitive. He needs to get more confident."  
ROWAN: “Stop bickering! We won’t get anywhere if we keep feuding like this!”  
BLAKE: “Saffron, yo. Just listen. If you tell me what you know, I’ll lay off. ‘Aight, homie?”  
SAFFRON: “B-b-but I already told you… I d-don’t know anything else about the case…”  
BLAKE: “Lies! You wouldn’t react that way if you weren’t hiding something, yo!”  
ANABEL: “For once, I agree with Blake. There’s something he’s keeping from us.”  
SAFFRON: “H-h-how many times do I have to tell you…? I did not do anything!”  
BLAKE: “Liar!”  
SAFFRON: “I’m n-not lying!”  
BLAKE: “Yes you are!”  
SAFFRON: “I-I’m not! Stop asking me these questions!”  
BLAKE: “You’re panicking! That means you’re hiding somethin’, yo! Spill!”  
OLIVE: “Blake, shut the fuck up!”  
BLAKE: “Not until I pry the information outta him!”  
OLIVE: “Y’know what? Fuck this. I know what he knows, so I’m goin’ to tell you.”  
SAFFRON: “Please, no…”  
OLIVE: “Man, it’s not even that bad.”  
SAFFRON: “Th-they’ll be mad at me, though.”  
OLIVE: “Here, I’m going to tell them. Tate, Poppy?”  
POPPY: “Yes?”  
OLIVE: “Y’know how you guys got those rashes?”  
TATE: “Yeah. They’re still itchy through the bandages.”  
OLIVE: “It’s our fault. Saffron and I’s fault.”  
TATE: “What? How?”  
OLIVE: “We… fuck, it sounds like such a stupid plan now that I’m saying it out loud.”  
ELLIOT: “Just spit it out, it could end up being important.”  
OLIVE: “Fine. We took a series of poisonous plants from the woods and lathered the computer keys with the sap.”  
ANABEL: “Why on Earth would you do that? That is on Blake’s level of stupidity.”  
BLAKE: “Yo, I was the one who pried it outta them in the first place, so maybe I’m not as dumb as I look.”  
OLIVE: “Alright, so you know how the lounge has a password to get in?”  
POPPY: “Yep. Password, right?”  
OLIVE: “Yeah. But we suspected that something was going on with the lounge. One of our ideas was that if you entered a different password, something else would show up. ‘Cuz, like, think about it. What’s the point to a password system? It’s a fuckin’ arcade lounge. So what if someone, say, the mole, entered a different password and opened up Monokuma’s lair or some shit?”  
MONOKUMA: “That’s so far from the actual truth, I’m laughing! Nice guess, Fletcher! Upupu!”  
OLIVE: “We figured that most people knew the password by now, so we put poisonous sap on all the letter keys aside from the letters in the word password. So if anyone turned up with a rash, we’d know that they tried inputting a different password, which would reveal the mole. Looks like that didn’t work, though. Sorry, Tate, Poppy.”  
POPPY: “No, no! It’s fine! It doesn’t itch too badly anymore. Thank you for telling us the truth.”  
TATE: “Mine still itches.”  
OLIVE: “See? They aren’t too mad. It’s nothing to freak out about, man.”  
SAFFRON: “A-ah… I see. Apologies for the rashes, then. Do I owe you anything…?”  
TATE: “What? Uh, no. It’s cool.”  
SAFFRON: “If you say so…”  
ANABEL: “That was mostly a waste of time. It doesn’t matter where Poppy and Tate got rashes from.”  
ROWAN: “Well, at least we now know the truth behind the rashes.”  
JOLIE: "There's still one thing I don't understand. What was the kitchen knife for?"  
CARMEN: "He was cut on the legs and stabbed in several places, I think."  
SAFFRON: "So… the culprit injured h-him before they killed him?"  
CARMEN: "Probably. Looks like he struggled a bunch, being all tough and everything."  
MARION: "But if he was hurt, that means this was probably a sneak attack. He wasn't expecting anything."  
POPPY: "And when they killer attacked them with the kitchen knife, he tried to fight back but was weakened because they had the element of surprise."  
ELLIOT: "Anybody could've stolen the knife. It's easily accessible from the kitchen, and we know Rowan didn't do it."  
MARION: "There's no saying the poisoned punch and the actual murder are linked. Someone else could've poisoned Saffron and Olive and Rowan killed him."  
ANABEL: "Good point, but then the poisoner would not benefit at all and lose the trust of everybody here. I say the murder and poison are definitely linked."  
ROWAN: "We're just going around in circles. Anybody could have poisoned the cups, anybody could have stolen the knife and somebody here is lying about their alibi."  
VALERIE: "Well, now what? This is all useless chit-chat. Let's just solve how he was killed and then match up alibis."  
CARMEN: "Good idea. Firstly, if Thomas wasn't killed in the fishing shed, where was he killed?"  
JOLIE: "Nowhere else has any evidence, though."  
BLAKE: "And that is where I stop you, dudette. Remember when we were investigating the sweet campfire? Jasper's rock was covered in blood with burned grass underneath, and Thomas dropped his bracelet there. If that ain't proof I don't know what is!"  
PENNY: "Ooh! What if Thomas didn't drop the bracelet by accident? He was training near the campfire, right? What if something happened to him that made him drop the bracelet?"  
ELLIOT: "Are you saying he might've been attacked at the campfire while he was training?"  
PENNY: "Well, it adds up! Dwayne was bloody. That could've meant he was hurt there!"  
JASPER: "Can I trust no one alone with my pet?"  
ANABEL: "That's a very good idea, but we're forgetting the burnt grass. If the rock hadn't moved, there wouldn't be any. I’m going to assume that it was still a bit hot from the campfire when it was moved, so that might’ve caused the grass to be slightly charred.”  
POPPY: "So that means…"  
ANABEL: "The rock was moved. And since it was covered in blood, I'm betting it played an important part of injuring Thomas. The fire was still burning at the time, so the burnt grass might’ve been a result of the rock being moved somehow.”  
MARION: "But his injuries only included knife wounds."  
NOLAN: "I got it!"  
ROWAN: "What do you have?"  
NOLAN: "Dwayne wasn't used to injure Thomas, he was used to kill him!"  
VALERIE: "What the fuck?! Didn’t we agree that the fuckin’ fishin’ kit was the weapon? It was all splattered with blood and shit, plus it was at the scene of the crime! It makes sense!”  
NOLAN: "Just hear me out, 'kay? The cause of death was blunt force trauma, right? That means any heavy object could've just been smashed on his head. Plus, we know for a fact that Thomas wasn’t killed in the shed! If he was killed at the campfire, the rock would’ve been a perfect, convenient weapon!”  
MARION: "Actually, I think he's on to something. "  
JASPER: "But… my son…"  
ANABEL: "I think Nolan is correct. The rock was conveniently placed near the campfire, where we’re assuming the murder actually happened. If he was attacked, he would've tried to fight back. Perhaps the culprit panicked and grabbed the nearest thing— the rock."  
BLAKE: "Dwayne's the fucking murder weapon?"  
JASPER: "No, this can't be."  
NOLAN: "Sorry bro, you gotta face the facts! I'm a genius!"  
TATE: “So the fishing kit was only planted there to make us think it was the murder weapon?”  
VALERIE: “Yeah! It’s like one of those red trout things you were talkin’ about.”  
TATE: “It’s a red herring.”  
OLIVE: "What about the friendship bracelet?”  
ROWAN: "Maybe when he was attacked, he dropped it by accident and the killer didn't notice."  
CARMEN: “Or maybe… he was already dead by then. He was training, was attacked by surprise, got injured. That left him weakened, so he dropped the bracelet when his head was smashed or when the killer was dragging his body to the shed.”  
JOLIE: "How did the killer move the body to the fishing shed without anyone noticing, though…? The night was still young when Thomas died, and there were many people still out and about."  
ELLIOT: "But Nolan touched his hand in a bush— the first body discovery. So the culprit killed Thomas, moved him to the bush, and then later again to the shed?"  
ROWAN: "There would've been blood everywhere… there would’ve been a trail. How did all the blood get into the fishing shed if the murder didn’t occur there?”  
BLAKE: “Yeah, there was a ton of blood there too, so what gives? I remember it very vividly.”  
VALERIE: "You fucking fainted."  
POPPY: “Hmm… but Rowan’s right. There would’ve been a lot of blood. How did the culprit manage to hide the body without trailing blood anywhere?”  
PENNY: “That’d be impossible! Maybe we’re on the wrong track…?”  
ROWAN: “No, we know that he was killed near the campfire because of Jasper’s rock… darn! I can’t think of anything!”  
MONOKUMA: “Tick tock, kids! Your time’s running out!”  
ROWAN: “Okay everyone, rapid fire suggestions. I don’t care if you think it sounds stupid, just shout it out.”  
BLAKE: “What if the culprit used… their own blood?”  
ROWAN: “... Actually, don’t shout out any stupid ideas.”  
BLAKE: “It’s possible, Rowan!”  
JOLIE: “Blake, darling, that’s disgusting. There was a lot of blood too, and if someone had a wound it’d be rather noticeable.”  
BLAKE: “Exactly! There are a few people with noticeable wounds here. Hey Poppy!”  
POPPY: “What?”  
BLAKE: “Care to explain that bandage around your hand?”  
OLIVE: “Have you even been listening to the conversation for the past half hour?”  
ANABEL: “Blake, if you’re just going to say something stupid again, just stop talking.”  
BLAKE: “Hey, hey! I’m not stupid!”  
ANABEL: “Sure.”  
ROWAN: “Everyone! Does anyone else have any legitimate ideas?”  
POPPY: “Hmm… what if the blood was collected in a bucket of sorts, then thrown onto the body later?”  
ELLIOT: “Then we would’ve seen a bucket.”  
VALERIE: “What if the wound was clogged up with somethin’?”  
CARMEN: “Like what?”  
VALERIE: “I dunno, it was just a suggestion. Maybe like… fuck, I dunno. A cloth?”  
PENNY: “But wouldn’t we have noticed a cloth?”  
VALERIE: “Maybe it wasn’t, like, a cloth specifically?”  
ROWAN: “It’s certainly plausible…”  
SAFFRON: “O-oh…! How about Carmen’s jacket?”  
NOLAN: “Nah, that’s not it. The jacket was splattered with blood, not soaked in it.”  
ANABEL: “What about… what about a bandage?”  
ROWAN: “The ones from the medical cabin? Yes, they are certainly thick enough to clog up blood…”  
VALERIE: “Hell yeah! I’m a fuckin’ genius, see? I’m brilliant!”  
JASPER: “Wouldn’t we have found bandages at the crime scene? Or at least, a few strips of them?”  
POPPY: “The killer would’ve cleaned them up after using them. They probably disposed of them later.”  
NOLAN: “Dammit! We should’ve checked the garbage cans!”  
ROWAN: “Actually, hold on a second. I think that Anabel’s bandage idea is correct.”  
ANABEL: “Thank you.”  
ROWAN: “Seriously. Remember when we were investigating the body? We found a small, white strip of cloth near the body. Perhaps that was a bandage…?”  
JOLIE: “Hm… you could be correct.”  
ROWAN: “So, do we all agree? Thomas’s wounds were clogged up with bandages to move the body safely. When the killer arrived at the fishing shed, they removed the bandages and let the blood spill to make it look like Thomas was killed in the shed. Is that correct?”  
ELLIOT: “Seems possible.”  
PENNY: “Woo-hoo! We’re almost there! We’ve almost cracked the case!”  
OLIVE: “Alright, lemme get things straight. Thomas was ambushed by the culprit, then he fought back. The culprit grabbed Dwayne and smashed it on Thomas’s head, killin’ him. Then they clogged up the wound with bandages or whatever, then hid the body in the bush. Later in the night, they moved the body to the fishing shed, took off the bandages and set it up to look like the kit was the murder weapon. Is that all?”  
JASPER: “Yes, I think so.”  
VALERIE: “Alright, so we know how he died. That still doesn’t fuckin’ answer the question we’re lookin’ for! So who’s the kooky bitch who did all this shit to Thomas? If we don’t figure this out, we’ll all be doomed!”  
MONOKUMA: “Except for the culprit. They’ll go free!”  
VALERIE: “We know that, you fuckin’ emo ass lookin’ Winnie the Pooh motherfucker.”  
ROWAN: “Ah, Valerie… I’ve been meaning to ask you to tone down the swearing.”  
VALERIE: “Fuck you, I can fuckin’ swear if I want to. I’m fuckin’ stressed as shit and my goddamn life’s on the line, so don’t fuckin’ tell me what to do!”  
ROWAN: “We’re all stressed, Valerie.”  
JASPER: “Okay, so the culprit used bandages to clog up the wound and stop the blood from trailing all over. That narrows our suspect pool quite a bit, doesn’t it?”  
ANABEL: “Indeed. The culprit has to be anyone with access to the bandages from the medical cabin. Marion, before you open your mouth again, Rowan’s been proven innocent.”  
MARION: “I wasn’t going to say that, idiot. I was going to say that it’s like the kitchen knife situation. Anyone could’ve retrieved the bandages at any time. They probably even got them in advance to prepare for the murder.”  
ROWAN: “I would’ve noticed some missing bandages— they’re stacked to fill the entire box.”  
ELLIOT: “So does that mean that the culprit stole the bandages that night…?”  
SAFFRON: “B-but that’s impossible… Olive and I were at the medical cabin for the whole night. We would’ve noticed if somebody came in to steal bandages.”  
OLIVE: "Rowan, didn't you mention visitors?"  
ROWAN: "Yes, but the only visitors were Jasper, to bring soup, and Jolie, to take bandages for Poppy. Unless somebody took them in the middle of the night. But I believe that Olive and Saffron would’ve noticed someone coming in, that door is quite creaky.”  
TATE: “Then… that means…”  
JASPER: “Jolie…?”  
JOLIE: “What? Darling, in case you forgot, I took the bandages only to help Poppy out. I also have a solid alibi— I was with Poppy during the time of the murder!”  
BLAKE: “U-uh, yo, what if… fuck, I dunno. What if Poppy was so absorbed in her game that she didn’t notice Jolie leave to kill Thomas?”  
POPPY: “That’s dumb! Your senses don’t just shut off when you start playing video games!”  
JOLIE: "I was with her the whole time, I assure you. I wouldn't have enough time to kill Thomas even if I snuck off."  
ELLIOT: “Poppy, I want you to think back. Did Jolie leave? The whole case is riding on this.”  
POPPY: “Jolie… I’m so sorry. Yes, Elliot. Jolie left early.”  
JOLIE: “Wh-what…? That’s… no. I didn’t leave, Poppy. I was there the whole time!”  
POPPY: “I don’t think so…”  
ANABEL: “Poppy, why would you leave out such a crucial part of your alibi?”  
POPPY: “I’m sorry! I just… I just really trusted Jolie, y’know? So when she left early, I thought it might look like she was the killer. So I… I lied in my alibi to protect her.”  
BLAKE: “That makes, like, zero sense, yo!”  
ROWAN: “Poppy, I understand that you wanted to protect her, but these things are important…”  
POPPY: “I’m… I’m sorry.”  
NOLAN: “So, Jolie! Care to explain yourself?”  
JOLIE: “I didn’t kill Thomas! I'd have no reason to!"  
OLIVE: “Are you sure about that?”  
JOLIE: “Yes! Yes I’m sure, dearie…! Why would I murder dear old Thomas? I’m not the killer, for heaven’s sakes!”  
MARION: “You’re getting so defensive…”  
TATE: "The motive. You thought you would get away with it because you had one of the tickets!"  
JOLIE: "D-darlings… you can't prove it's me!"  
ANABEL: "Actually, we can. Now that I think about it, it’s obvious. You went with Poppy to the lair for an alibi, and went to the medical cabin so Rowan could witness you as well."  
JOLIE: "No, you're all wrong!"  
ANABEL: "At the campfire, you stole Carmen's jacket to frame her and stashed the disguise away in a bush."  
JOLIE: “No… no! Stop that! I’m not the killer, I’d never kill anyone!”  
ROWAN “Jolie…”  
JOLIE: “Look at me, then look at Thomas! I don’t have the guts to go up against such a muscular guy like him! And besides! I. Don’t. Have. A. Motive! I’m not the killer!”

**ARGUMENT ARMAMENT**  
vs. Jolie

“I’m not the culprit, darlings.”  
“It’s obvious— just look at me!”

“I’m not a cold blooded killer.”  
“Sure, I might have taken the bandages…”

“...but you have no proof that I used it for murder!”  
“Perhaps I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

“Somebody else might’ve taken the bandages in the middle of the night…”  
“You know what? Let’s stop talking about the bandages, darling.”

“Let’s talk about me for a minute.”  
“I don't have any reason to kill Thomas at all…!"

“If you insist I’m the culprit, tell me! What was my motive?”

SUSPECTED HIM OF SOMETHING

**B R E A K**

JOLIE: “Wh-what? That’s so… far fetched. Where did you get that from?”  
ANABEL: “No, it’s reasonable. Why would you target Thomas specifically?”  
JOLIE: “I didn’t target anyone, dearie. I keep telling you— I’m not the culprit!”  
ANABEL: "I don’t believe you. Answer my question. Why Thomas? Why not someone shorter or weaker, perhaps Saffron or Olive at training?"  
OLIVE: “Hey, I’m ten times stronger than Thomas could ever be!”  
JOLIE: "Maybe it was… Marion! His only alibi was sleeping! He could've easily snuck out to kill him! He has been hating us this whole time."  
MARION: “What the fuck? Where did that even come from?”  
ANABEL: "Marion couldn't have been able to get the bandages from the medical cabin."  
JOLIE: "Perhaps there's somewhere else with bandages…!"  
ANABEL: "No. Only the cabin has bandages. Jolie, you murdered Thomas."  
JOLIE: “J-just because I took the bandages for Poppy’s rash doesn’t mean that I still have them…!”  
ROWAN: “Then where are the bandages, Jolie?”  
ELLIOT: “For the record, we’re not taking ‘I lost them’ as an excuse at this point.”  
JOLIE: "I-I don't know, I swear! I… I think I left them at the lounge!”  
CARMEN: “Nah, you’re lying. We went there during investigation. The whole roll of bandages wasn’t there— just a few strips.”  
TATE: “Luckily it was enough to bandage my own rash…”  
ROWAN: “Jolie, just stop it.”  
JOLIE: “What? I didn’t kill him!”  
ROWAN: “Please, just admit it. I’m not mad, I’m just disappointed.”  
NOLAN: "Ooh, she’s bringin’ out the disappointed mom voice. You're in hot water, Jolie. We're all so disappointed in you."  
JOLIE: “No… stop. Stop it! Stop! I’m not the culprit! I’m not! I didn’t kill Thomas! I would never kill anyone! That’s enough!”  
MARION: "You're panicking."  
VALERIE: “No shit, she’s panicking. She's guilty."  
JOLIE: "Don't you believe me?”  
ANABEL: “No. Jolie, you murdered Thomas. It makes sense, too— you’re tall, so you could slam something down on the top of his head without a problem. You killed him because you suspected him of something. The only reason someone would go for him would be if they suspected him of something. Otherwise, nobody would think of trying to kill Thomas— that’s just suicide.”  
OLIVE: “He’s a lot weaker than he looks, actually.”  
ANABEL: “Not the time, Olive.”  
JOLIE: “I’m… I’m…”  
ANABEL: “Just admit it already, you murderer scum.”  
JASPER: “Alright, don’t call her that now.”  
JOLIE: “I’m… I’m sorry.”  
BLAKE: “Boom! That was a confession! Hell yeah, we’re super sleuths!”  
ROWAN: “Blake, shut up…”  
BLAKE: “Oh my god! Holy fuck, watch your language, Rowan! There are children here!”  
ROWAN: “Blake! It’s not the time!”  
JOLIE: “I-I-I’m just… I’m just so sorry. Y-yes, I admit it. I killed Thomas.”  
ROWAN: "But… why?"  
JOLIE: “It’s just as Anabel said. I suspected him… I suspected him of being the mole.”  
VALERIE: “Now, where the fuck did that come from?”  
JOLIE: “I spoke to him a few days ago in his cabin. I thought it’d be nice to have a friendly chat— I’ve wanted to make genuine friends my entire life, and I thought now’d be a good time.”  
NOLAN: “You wanted to be friends with him, so you murdered him?”  
ROWAN: “Let her finish.”  
JOLIE: “He excused himself to the bathroom, so I began looking around his cabin. That’s when I noticed some strange envelopes on the desk.”  
SAFFRON: “W-wait… so did Thomas receive a ticket too?”  
JOLIE: “Yes he did, but… there were two envelopes. One of them didn’t look like the one I received. So… so out of curiosity, I decided to inspect it.”  
NOLAN: “Yeesh! Do you know nothing about minding your own business, Jolie?”  
JOLIE: “Stop it! So… I opened the envelope, only to find a strange, nonsense phrase.”  
VALERIE: “What the fuck do you mean, a strange, nonsense phrase?”  
JOLIE: “I don’t know… when he got back and saw me holding the envelope, he got really jumpy and asked me to leave. Also, there’s another thing…”  
ROWAN: “What is it?”  
JOLIE: “Awhile ago, I was taking a walk out at night. It was quite dark, and… and Thomas came up to me. He talked about the game and how he wondered if anyone would die next, and… I don’t know! It was so strange… he just walked up to me in the middle of the night and started talking about the game, unprompted. He acted quite sketchy, too. Always reminding us we’re in the killing game, always betting on who’d die first… if anyone’s the mole, it’s him.”  
NOLAN: “That doesn’t mean he’s the mole, idiot!”  
JOLIE: “Yes, well… I j-just thought that because I had a ticket, I could try to kill the mole and get away with it. See, the presence of a mole is one of the only things stopping us from complete harmony. Like a fool, I tried to single handedly eliminate the mole. If… if only more people had discovered the body before midnight, we wouldn’t be here now…”  
MARION: “Yeah, but did you have to take that chance? Tch. You could’ve fucking killed us.”  
JOLIE: “Yes, and I’m sorry! I’m really sorry! I’ve been an idiot, I know… oh goodness, how could I be so idiotic? Thomas isn’t the mole, I was just jumping to conclusions…”  
MONOKUMA: “Upupupu!! What a stupid decision!”  
ANABEL: “I agree with the bear. That was foolish. You should’ve told us instead.”  
JOLIE: “I know, I know… I just… I’m sorry.”  
ELLIOT: “Alright, let’s go over the whole case one more time, just to make sure we’re not missing anything.”  
ANABEL: “Of course.”

**CLOSING ARGUMENT**

ACT 1

Our culprit started to suspect Thomas was the mole, so she formulated a plan to kill him. Since she was one of the ticket receivers, she thought she could kill him and get things over with without an official trial. She took a bag and Carmen’s jacket as a disguise so she could run around in the night without being recognized. She also stole a knife from the kitchen to attack him with. During lunch that day, she snuck poison into Saffron and Olive’s drinks. This allowed her to get Thomas alone that night, since his training partners were both ill.

ACT 2

On the night of the murder, she headed to the lounge with Poppy at exactly 10:00 to get a bonus item on one of the arcade machines. Poppy got a rash from Saffron and Olive’s little scheme, so the culprit excused herself to go to the bathroom and to get some bandages from the medical cabin. Then, she put on her disguise and headed to the campfire. She saw that Thomas was at the campfire alone. She snuck up on him with the knife, and managed to strike his leg. The cut was not fatal, but it weakened him. We can assume that Thomas tried to fight back. Panicking, Jolie took Jasper’s pet rock from the campfire and smashed it on his head, killing him instantly. She places it back, unaware that the grass around the rock was slightly burned. She then carried the body into a bush.

ACT 3

On his way back to the cabins with Carmen, Nolan noticed something strange in the bush when hiding— a hand. He touched it, and sure enough, it was a human hand. The culprit took off the paper bag and proceeded to the medical cabin where she borrowed the whole roll of bandages from Rowan, supposedly for Poppy's rash. She returned to the lounge and fixed Poppy up, then took the rest of the bandages for herself. Our culprit then left the lounge, returned to the bush and wrapped the bandages around Thomas’s head.

ACT 4

At roughly midnight, she must’ve realized that the body discovery announcement hasn’t played yet. Panicking, she headed out to hide the body properly. She pulled the body to the fishing shed and removed the bandages from Thomas’s head and wounds, spilling his blood everywhere. She placed the knife on the floor and heads outside. She then picked up the old fishing rod on the dock and broke it in half. She left it in front of the door to make us think it’s a locked room mystery. Our culprit also accidentally left a bit of the bandage at the crime scene— a crucial piece of evidence. Finally, she kicked away the door stopper and left for her cabin.

All the clues lead to only one person— that would be you, Jolie!

**COMPLETE**

A solemn look upon her face, Jolie turned to the ground. “Yes,” she finally said, devoid of her normally cheerful voice. “That’s all correct. The jacket stealing, the eye drop poisoning, the struggle...”  
Olive raised an eyebrow. “Eye drops?”  
Jolie’s podium lit up and slowly moved to the centre of the room. She neglected to make eye contact with any of her classmates— she knew they were disappointed in her. “I’m terribly sorry, my dears. I suppose… I suppose I’ve been a tad too impulsive. This…” She gestured to the trial room. “We never would have ended up in this situation if it weren’t for my foolishness. I’m genuinely sorry. I guess I was just trying to protect us all, but in the end, I’ve done just the opposite.”  
Poppy spoke up. “Jolie, it’s okay…”  
“It’s not okay!” Jolie cried, slamming her fist on the podium. “I murdered an innocent person! I put your lives in danger! I scared you all! I’m… I’m a murderer, Poppy! And you tried to lie to protect me, because… because you trusted me!” Tears began streaming down her face. Though she tried to wipe them away with her sleeve, she couldn’t stop them from coming. “And… now I'm going to die. I don't want to, but I suppose Thomas didn't really want to either."  
“Jolie…” said Rowan quietly. The Supermodel turned to her, her face stained with tears and her eyes reddened. She bit her lip. She wasn’t sure how to comfort the girl, but she could at least try. “Jolie, your intentions weren’t bad. You tried to go with your gut instinct and kill the mole right off the bat. Your motive was heroic."  
Jolie shook her head. "Sure, my motive was… as you say, ‘heroic’, but I still killed an innocent person. I… I just feel like a failure. I'm terribly sorry I made you go through all of this. I will truly miss you, my darlings." She wiped away another tear and sniffed.  
"It really has been good, I suppose. My whole life I never really had any close friends, being a model and all… I had a chance to just be myself here, and I'm grateful." She turned around and looked at all of her classmates slowly. “I’ve been… foolish. Impulsive. Reckless. And thus, it has led to my demise.” She sniffed. “A-and now… now I’ll never get to see my loved ones again. My mother, my father, my sister, my butlers…” She wiped a tear off her cheek, then stood taller. She stared at Monokuma with wide eyes. "Why do you do such nasty things to us?” she asked. “It isn't just a game— not to us. You're driving young teenagers to kill each other for your own entertainment, for God's sake! Go ahead and kill me. Vote for me. It won't change the fact that innocent people are getting brutally murdered. It won't change the face that you're just pure evil deep down. I don't know who's controlling you or who the real mole and mastermind is, but I do know this. Whatever you think about this horrifying camp, you're wrong. This class is spectacular, and I know they'll stick together to escape no matter what. So go kill me— it's what you wanted in the end anyway."

“Of course!” Monokuma cried gleefully. Jolie’s podium slowly returned to its original location. “Everyone, gather ‘round! It’s the moment you’ve all been waiting for! It’s time to vote for the one you think is the blackened! Will you get it wrong and perish? Or will you get it correct and flourish? It’s up to you! Are you excited? Are you pumped? You better be! Now let’s get this shitshow started!”

On every student’s podium, a screen revealed itself. Tiny sprites resembling each student appeared on it, each with a button beside them. The students shared nervous glances as most of them tapped Jolie’s icon on the screen. As soon as everyone was finished, the screens closed and a large billboard with the results on it lowered from the ceiling.

“Co-o-o-orrect!” exclaimed Monokuma, bringing his paws together. “Everyone, pat yourself on the back! You got it correct! Jolie is the cold-blooded murderer scum you’ve all been looking for! Isn’t that great?!” Many of the students neglected to make eye contact with the horrible bear. Though Jolie did kill someone, she was their friend. Nobody was sure what was to happen next, so they kept silent instead. “Upupupu! This has got to be my favorite part!”  
“Your… favorite part?” asked Tate quietly.  
“Yep!” Monokuma grinned. “It’s punishment time! Time for the execution!”  
Jolie stepped off her podium. “Go ahead, then. I’m waiting.”  
“Ah, I see!” Monokuma rubbed his paws together. “Facing your death with dignity, eh? Alright. Honestly, I really really really wanted to see you have a breakdown, but hey, I can’t have everything, right?”  
“Fuck you,” spat Carmen. “You can’t kill Jolie!”  
“Yeah,” said Olive, stepping up to Monokuma. “That’s bullshit! You can’t kill her right in front of us, that’s fucked up!”  
“I’m a fucked up bear, what can I say?”  
Jolie shook her head. “I’m… I’m terribly sorry, everyone. I deserve this. But you all have to promise me! You have to get out of here!”  
Monokuma shook his head. “Not happening anytime soon, kid!”  
“No.” Jolie stepped forward. “It’s going to happen, I know it! I believe in them, and I know that they’ll escape this camp and take you down! Now, I don’t know who you are, but know this. You don’t know what’s coming for you.”  
“Wow, that’s dramatic!” Monokuma laughed. “Anyway, enough with the chitter-chatter! It’s time for the punishment!”  
Jolie took one last glance at her classmates. “I’m sorry, my darlings,” she said, her voice slightly hoarse. “Goodbye.”

With that, a claw flew out of the execution chamber, clamped around Jolie’s neck and pulled her in.

**GAME OVER  
JOLIE HAS BEEN FOUND GUILTY.  
TIME FOR THE PUNISHMENT!  
PHOTOSHOOT PANIC**

Jolie found herself pulled into a slowly ascending elevator. It was too dark to see anything— it gave her chills. She had no idea what was going to happen to her, and she could only hope that it would be a quick death. Out of the darkness, she could see something moving— something was in there with her. Short figurines dashed around her, and she felt her favorite designer coat being ripped off her shoulders and her hair being bunched up into a ponytail. She felt powder against her face, and she let out a cough. What was going on?

Soon enough, she could see the light above her. The ascent had taken long enough, and the buildup was only giving her more anxiety. The elevator came to a stop, and the doors slowly opened. The bright lights flooded into the small elevator, and Jolie winced at the sudden brightness. In the distance, she could hear the familiar sound of cameras flashing. As her eyes slowly adjusted to the light, she found herself on a runway. It was a glamorous one, too. But knowing Monokuma, something sinister awaited her. Tentatively, she took a step forward. Lights radiated from the floor where she had stepped. She bit her lip and continued to stride down the runway. If she was going to die, she might as well go out with style.

The crowd roared as she continued down the runway, the cameras flashing and the upbeat music blaring out of the loudspeakers. She struck a pose for the cameras, then another, then another. She used this time to observe what they had done to her in the elevator— to her surprise, she had been dressed in a gorgeous red gown paired with a fluffy boa around her neck. It was a beautiful outfit, fit exactly to her size and taste. Though her life was about to end, she couldn’t help but smile at her final outfit. How did that Monokuma know her so well…?

The end of the runway was in sight. The end of the runway also marked the end of her life— she knew this well. She took a deep breath and continued to walk. Might as well get it over with. She stood in the center of the stage and struck a final pose. The crowd had gathered around the end of the runway, the camera flashes growing brighter and brighter until she swore they could blind her. Then, she felt a sharp pain in her chest, then the hard impact of her body hitting the stage. She had been fatally shot— but how? Within the crowd, a smile crept onto Monokuma’s face. One of the cameras was a disguised gun. In her last seconds of consciousness, she could see the red flowing out of her chest and onto the catwalk. Then her last breath escaped her lips, and Jolie L’Amoureux was no more.

The rest of the class could only stand agape as the curtains closed on Jolie’s execution. Nobody knew how to react after witnessing their former classmate’s death. It was strange. It felt strange that she was gone. Sure, she was a murderer. She killed Thomas for her own reasons. But she was also their friend.

As Monokuma laughed hysterically at the students’ reactions, a new fear had settled into the fourteen remaining students. The game was real. The game was real and posed a serious threat to their lives. Thomas and Jolie were the first— who knew how many more lives would be taken? They had spent the past five days being fools, dismissing the game as some silly prank instead of taking it seriously. Now, a single, terrifying question lingered in their minds.

Who would be next?

END OF CHAPTER 1  
Surviving Students: 14  
Olive Fletcher - Super Stellar Archer  
Blake Marcato - Super Stellar DJ  
Penelope Claire - Super Stellar Seer  
Tate Koubeton - Super Stellar Author  
Saffron Chenery - Super Stellar Botanist  
Poppy Reiss - Super Stellar Engineer  
Nolan Canter - Super Stellar Equestrian  
Anabel Maybury - Super Stellar Attorney  
Elliot Rothberg - Super Stellar Angler  
Marion Spruce - Super Stellar Puppeteer  
Valerie Millstein - Super Stellar Lucky Student  
Jasper Bayers - Super Stellar Jeweler  
Carmen Laughrin - Super Stellar Skier  
Rowan Auguste - Super Stellar Pathologist


	9. Chapter 2: Periled at the Party (Daily Life I)

The fourteen students rode up in silence. Nobody dared to speak a word after the events of the trial. Two of their friends departed them, and the killing game was real. Soon enough, the elevator doors skid to a halt and slowly opened up, reveal the lush, green grass of the camp. Though the sight would have normally been taken as welcoming, the dire situation the students found themselves in gave the camp sinister undertones.  
The students filed out of the elevator and watched as it lowered back into the ground. Soon enough, the campfire had returned to its former state and all was still. Rowan stared back at the flames and sighed. Her gaze landed on the pet rock, still splattered in blood. Holding back tears, she turned to the group.

“Everyone, I understand that we’re all stressed out right now, but—”

“That’s the fuckin' understatement of the century,” muttered Valerie.  
“...But we have to stay strong. We have to find a way out of this camp.” Rowan stepped forward. “I will not allow any more lives to be taken! As your leader, I vow to protect you all!”  
“That’s naive of you,” said Marion immediately. “Think about it. Monokuma’s going to give us another motive, and another murder’s going to happen. It’s nigh impossible to stop this, and it doesn’t look like there’s going to be a way out. And look— Jolie and Thomas are dead. They’re fucking dead, Rowan! It’s like you don’t care!”  
Rowan shook her head. “You’re being horribly pessimistic.”  
“And you’re being horribly unrealistic,” shot back Marion. “You’re not as great of a leader as you think. You promise to protect us, you promise that nothing will go wrong, and yet you refuse to deal with the situation head on.” The Puppeteer began pacing around the campfire. “You always talk about how you love seeing us happy, but you never make an attempt to bust us outta here. At least I tried.”  
“You tried to burn down the bridge gate, idiot!” cried Anabel. “You didn’t do anything more than Rowan did!”  
“At least I made a fucking attempt to get us out!” retorted Marion. “This girl… she hasn’t done anything! All she’s done is get our hopes up about escaping, and that's obviously not happening anytime soon. At least burning a gate is action. All she wants to do is sit around and hope."  
“I’ve been making rules to prevent murders!” cried Rowan. “I don’t want to do anything as drastic as burning something down!”  
“How stupid are you?” spat Marion, approaching Rowan. “You don’t want to do anything drastic? In case you haven’t noticed, this whole fucking killing game situation calls for drastic measures! And those rules? They didn’t help! Jolie and Thomas are still dead, and we can’t change that!” He scoffed. “So what are you gonna do now, huh? Gonna make up some more useless rules?”  
“Why, you—”  
“Hey, hey, that’s enough!” Olive stepped forward and pulled the two apart. “Now, I don’t want this turnin’ into a full on fight.” She took a deep breath. “We can’t get outta here if we don’t work together, alright? Your bickerin’ isn't helpin’ anyone— in fact, it’s hindering our progress as a group!”  
Poppy nodded. “Exactly! If we want to get out, we need to work together in perfect harmony!”  
Marion gave a last glare at Rowan, but held his tongue. “I’m going to my cabin,” he finally said. “I’ll see you all at lunch.” With that, he turned on his heel and began his walk to the cabins.

Rowan let out a sigh and turned to the group. “Everyone, please listen. That trial was tiring for all of us, and the stress of losing two friends has done a toll on us. I say we all rest up a bit— we still have a couple of hours until lunch. At lunch, we’ll discuss a proper escape plan. But until then, let’s clear our minds and rest.” Murmurs of agreement rippled throughout the group, then soon the students dispersed into the camp once again.

***

The events of the trial left Elliot at a loss. He was never close to Thomas nor Jolie, but their absences made the camp seem gloomier and more hopeless than usual. Combined with Marion and Rowan’s “leader rivalry” heating up, Elliot was beginning to feel even more uncomfortable here than ever before.

He’d been sitting on the dock thinking about this for the past while. The Angler had taken off his sneakers and socks, his legs hanging off the edge of the dock and his feet submerged in the lake water. There was a slight wind— not strong enough to mess up his hair completely, but just enough to blow a few dark strands into his face. Aside from the blowing wind, the lakeside was quiet this morning. He’d been at the dock for the past half hour or so, but he had yet to see any of his peers pass by. It made sense, though. Nobody really wanted to be around the fishing shed after what happened to Thomas. Though the place had become unsettling to some of the students, Elliot would always find the lakeside to be soothing. It reminded him a lot of home.

Suddenly, he heard the distant sound of footsteps and chatter. Raising an eyebrow, Elliot turned to see who might be coming. He sat in silence, listening. There were two sets of footsteps— two people. The voices were quiet, but judging by the sound of them they either belonged to some of the girls or to Saffron. He silently prayed that it was someone he got along with. He wasn’t mentally prepared to deal with the more obnoxious members of the class.  
As the voices grew louder, Elliot let out a sigh of relief when he realized who they were. He swung his legs back over onto the dock, slipped on his shoes and watched the forest for his friends.  
Soon enough, he saw Poppy’s signature red hair buns and Penny’s striped cloak peeking through the shrubs. The Engineer pushed aside a bush and let Penny through, then smiled when she noticed Elliot there.

“Hey, Elliot!” A small smile graced her features as she hurried down the hill and towards the shore. “What’s up? Are you… are you feeling alright after what happened this morning?”  
“Take a guess,” mumbled Elliot in response. “How about you?”  
Poppy sighed and brushed her sneakers against the dock. “Not so good… I just feel horrible that we had to vote Jolie out. I mean, sure— she killed Thomas. But I just feel bad, y’know? I didn’t know that this kind of thing would actually happen to us…”  
“We had to vote Jolie out,” said Elliot firmly. “It’s terrible, but if we didn’t we wouldn’t be standing here right now.”  
“Yeah…”  
Elliot tried to smile. “We’ll live through this, though. We’ll find a way out.”

“Hey, what are you lovebirds talkin’ about?” Poppy turned to see Penny dashing down the hill. When she arrived at the dock, she yawned and plopped down on the dock. “Anyhoo, that doesn’t matter to me. I’m exhausted!”  
“What a surprise,” muttered Elliot.  
Penny sighed. “Do you guys think there’s going to be any more murders?”  
Elliot shrugged and sat down next to her. “You tell me, you’re the Seer.”  
Penny made a face at him. “Sure, I might be the Seer, but I can’t foresee exactly what the future holds, dummy,” she spat. She pulled her knees up to her chest. “My parents told me that the accuracy of my future vision depends on my state of mind, my environment… there are a whole lot of boring factors that play into it! Plus, even if I’m in a super good jolly ‘ol mood, I still won’t be able to see the exact future! And that frustrates me!”  
“Really?” Elliot raised an eyebrow. “Then what’ll you see? Normally, I mean. When you’re in a… a good mood.”  
“Paths,” replied Penny. “I’d see the many different possibilities for the future. But I can’t see them now, and that makes me mad!” She folded her arms and huffed. “I’m the Great Penelope Claire, Super Stellar Seer— yet I can’t even solve a simple murder case? I wasn’t able to see anything during that trial, darn it!”  
Poppy tilted her head. “You weren’t able to see anything at all? But Carmen told me that a few days ago you were able to make some predictions about the game…”  
“Those predictions were probably wrong!” Penny threw her hands up in exasperation. “I saw us! I really did! I saw all sixteen of us fighting Monokuma together! But now…” She huffed. “Now it looks like I was wrong. I guess I’m just getting worse at this.”  
“Aw, Penny…” Poppy knelt down next to her and gave her a warm smile. “I’m sure some of your predictions were right. Don’t beat yourself up like that— we’re all stressed right now.”  
“Hmph!” Penny crossed her arms and pouted. “Even if they were right, that’d be so utterly horrible! I predicted that somebody would commit suicide! That’s not a happy thing!”  
Elliot’s eyes widened. “I realize that future vision must be quite stressful for you,” he said. “It must be terrible to know too much about the future. You must feel horrible knowing that one of your friends is going to commit suicide.”  
“I don’t even know if that one’s real…” mumbled Penny. “I hope it isn’t.”  
“Yeah…” Poppy placed her arm around the other girl’s shoulder. “But don’t worry, okay? You shouldn’t put yourself down too much. You’re a great seer, Penny!”  
“Of… of course I am!” Her cheerful demeanor quickly returning, Penny grinned and pumped her fist. “And it’s time you silly mortals recognize that! I am the Great Penelope Claire, and I swear on my life that I’ll be an asset to the class next trial! Next trial, nobody’ll even need to investigate! I’ll just use my sweet magic abilities to figure out the culprit, easy-peasy!” She stood up and placed her hands on her hips.

“Watch out, future culprit!” she exclaimed. “You won’t get away from me! I’ll figure you out before you can say ‘not guilty’! The Great Penelope Claire’s coming for you!”

Poppy giggled. “Her mood did a complete 180 within seconds,” she said with a smile. She turned to Elliot and added under her breath, “I hope there aren’t any future culprits, though.”  
Elliot nodded in response. “Same here.”

Then, the Angler stood up and stretched out his arms. “Oh, by the way…” he said, turning to the girls. “Blake told me that there’s a couple new milkshake flavors in the camp store. It’s a reward of sorts for completing the trial. Do you guys want to go get some to cheer ourselves up a bit?”  
Penny nodded enthusiastically and clasped her hands together. “Ooh, of course!” she said. “I lo-o-o-ve milkshakes! Especially mint ones! Do you think they’ll have mint ones, Elliot?”  
“Only one way to find out,” he said, already heading back towards the forest. He chuckled. “Mint? Why do you love mint so much? I like it, but it’s not the best.”  
Penny laughed. “Mint is the best, dum-dum! It makes your mouth feel all cold and tingly inside! It is like…” She put her hands out in front of her. “Like cold, but as a flavor.”  
Poppy got up from the dock and jogged to catch up with them, a smile on her face. “Wait for me, guys!”

***

His hands shoved in his pockets, Jasper began his stroll around the island. He wouldn’t call it a stroll, actually— a stroll was a leisurely walk. A walk for enjoyment. This was more of a walk to calm himself down after the events of the past hour. Normally, Jasper would describe himself as a mellow individual. He could usually keep himself composed even in the most dire of situations. But right now, the stress was getting to him. He just needed to take a break for a bit.

Rowan was insistent that there wouldn’t be any more murders, but Jasper wasn’t too sure about that. And that worried him. If there was another murder, he’d have to watch more of his classmates go. Sure, he wouldn’t consider himself too attached to most of them. But when he watched a bullet firing into Jolie’s heart, it was difficult for him to hold back tears. He knew that had other friends in the camp— he had built up a trusting friendship with Rowan and Saffron seemed like a nice person. But Jolie was his friend too, and now he’d never see her again. Maybe he’d form new friendships over time, but he wasn’t very fond of anyone else in particular.

The camp was quiet this morning. On his walk, Jasper didn’t run into any of the thirteen other students. He figured they must be either mourning or hiding in fear of being killed. Or perhaps a few were already scheming, coming up with dastardly ideas to become the next blackened. That was a frightening thought.  
Within about twenty minutes or so, Jasper began running into the same trees and rocks as he saw when he started his walk. The camp was so easy to get lost in— the woods were practically a maze. He emerged from the trees and found himself back at the cabins where he started. There wasn’t anyone else in sight. Though he had only been here a few days, the lack of energy made the camp seem off. He decided to retire to his cabin and take a nap. He deserved it.

As he made his way up the stairs to his deck, he heard footsteps in the grass behind him. The sudden presence of another person startled him, so he quickly turned around to find Saffron standing there. A terrified expression on his face, the other boy immediately dashed up the steps to his cabin and locked the door. Jasper raised an eyebrow. Was he afraid of him? He descended the steps of his own cabin and headed over to Saffron’s.  
He gave a swift knock against the door, but there wasn’t a response. He knocked once more. Still, no response. “Saffron?” he called through the door. Again, no response. He decided to believe that Saffron was in the bathroom. He was about to head back down the steps when a response finally came.

“What do you want?”

Jasper paused, then returned up the stairs. “Just wanted to talk,” he replied calmly. “You feeling alright?”  
“Go away!” cried Saffron behind the door. Jasper was taken aback by the sudden outburst. He’d never heard the Botanist speak that loudly before. “I… I have a hoe and I’m not afraid to use it!”  
“You have a what?” Jasper sighed. “Just… open the door. I promise I won’t hurt you.”  
“Are you sure?”  
“Yeah, I’m pretty sure.”  
A pause. “I-I’m not sure… wh-what if when I open the door, y-you barge in here with a knife, and you go… you go ahead and…” The voice trailed off.  
“No… no, I’m not going to do that!” Jasper gave another knock. “Just let me in, and we can talk it out. We’re friends, right?”  
“I-I guess…” The door creaked open, the chain lock keeping it from opening any further. Saffron tentatively peeked out of the opening, looking his visitor up and down and glancing out of the corner of his eye to see if anyone else was with him. “Okay…” he said, his voice barely higher than a whisper. “You can come in.”  
Jasper watched Saffron take off the chain lock and open the door just wide enough for him to enter. As soon as he did, Saffron immediately shut and locked the door again. He sighed and took a seat on his bed. Jasper raised his eyebrow when he noticed that he was holding a garden hoe with a tight grip.  
“What’s that?” he asked, gesturing to the tool.  
“H-huh? Oh…” Saffron leant the hoe against the wall. “It’s the weapon I got from Monokuma… didn’t you get one?”  
“Monokuma’s giving us weapons?”  
“Y-yes…” Saffron sighed. “I called him a while ago to ask him about it, he said that it was because last time took five days, and that he wanted us to k-kill, and—” He took a deep breath to articulate himself. “He told me that he gave us all weapons to encourage another murder.”  
“Ah, I see.” Jasper shook his head. “That’s horrible.” He noticed that Saffron was all tensed up— the boy was trembling and gripping a pillow close to his chest. “So,” he said, taking a seat next to him. Saffron shifted over a bit. “I just wanted to know if you’re alright after what happened this morning. I mean, the trial was traumatizing for everyone.”  
Saffron mumbled something into his pillow in response. “I’m here to listen if you want to talk about anything,” said Jasper. “I know we’re all afraid because of the killing game, but I don’t want to see you like… like this.”  
“I’m going to die,” Saffron mumbled, his voice cracking.  
Jasper blinked. “No, no,” he said in an attempt to comfort him. “Don’t say things like that.”  
“J-just look at me!” he cried, wiping away a tear. “I’m frail and weak, I have no muscle! I’m going to die here, Jasper…”  
“No, you’re not!” Jasper took his shoulders. “You’re not going to die here! We’re going to find a way out, and we’re all going to get out of this hell safe and sound.” He was a bit surprised by his words. He was hardly ever this positive. “Just… stop thinking like that. You won’t die here.”  
Saffron swallowed a lump in his throat. “I g-guess…” Jasper watched him as he continued to quiver and wipe away tears. Jasper didn’t want to admit it, but Saffron was probably going to die. Hell, he himself was probably going to die. Anyone could die. The best thing he could do for Saffron right now was try to reassure him that everything would be okay. He knew it wasn’t true, but everyone could use a bit of positivity right now.

“Don’t worry. Everything will be alright,” he said as convincingly has he could. “Look, people will come looking for us. Society won’t ignore the disappearances of sixteen talented kids. They could send, uh, search teams and stuff out, I dunno.” Saffron didn’t seem convinced. He let out a sigh and buried his face in the pillows.  
“You’re just— you’re just trying to make me feel better.”  
Jasper bit his lip. “Yes, I am,” he finally said. “I want you to feel better. I don’t want to see you cowering in your cabin like this.”  
Saffron lifted his head from the pillow. “O-okay,” he said slowly. “I’ll… I’ll try to be less scared, I guess.”  
“That’s good.”  
“I just…” Saffron sighed. “Why are you being so nice to me…? I m-mean, I know you told me not to be scared and all, but… I don’t think I have much time left in this camp, so wh-what’s the point in trying to be my friend?”  
Jasper shook his head. “No, stop thinking like that. Let’s… let’s change the topic. Let’s talk about something else, get our minds off the whole killing game thing.”  
“That’ll… that’ll be a bit difficult, but I can try to carry a conversation.”

“Alright.” Jasper leaned back in the bed. “So, I feel like I don’t know a lot about the people in this class. So, um, we can start by… I dunno, let’s talk a bit about what led to us becoming Super Stellars.” Saffron tilted his head in confusion, so Jasper continued. “Here, look. I’ll start. I got into jewelry making mostly because of my younger sister, Jade. Our family runs a professional jewelry making business too, so I was often expected to help out. Anyway, my parents fought a lot. There was often a lot of screaming around the house, and eventually they got a divorce.”  
Saffron’s eyes widened. “That’s… terrible. I’m sorry.”  
“It’s fine,” said Jasper, shaking his head. “So Jade, as young as she was, she was horrified. I… I tried to make her feel a bit better. I’d spend my free time creating princess tiaras, necklaces, earrings and all that for her. It was all in an attempt to make her feel better about the family situation. I’ll never forget the look on her face when I gave them to her. Sure, I was young. It wasn’t my best work. But… I got better, I guess. Jewelry making became a hobby to me. Admittedly, I didn’t have a lot of hobbies. I’d head home from school, then I’d sleep for the rest of the day.” He paused. “I mean, I tried collecting coins once.”  
Saffron nodded. “I didn’t have too many hobbies either,” he said quietly. “I mean, I like journaling and sketching. I’ve tried origami, too.” He leaned over and took a notebook from his desk. “I’ve actually been keeping a… a journal of the events that occurred in the camp. I bring it everywhere with me.”  
“That’s good,” Jasper said. “I tried journalling once— my sister recommended it to me— but I couldn’t dedicate myself to writing every day.”  
“I see,” said Saffron, placing the journal back on the desk. “A-anyway, go on.”  
“So, yeah. I guess jewelry making gave me something interesting to do. Then I just got better at it, and I kept helping out with the family business. Then we made it big, and we heard that people like…” Jasper trailed off for a moment, but quickly continued. “We made it big, then we heard that supermodels and fashion icons from all over were interested in our family’s work. And when word got around that some twelve year old kid was making these necklaces and rings worn by models, I guess that’s when RIMI found me.”  
Saffron nodded. “That’s… that’s great. I’m happy for you.”  
“Yeah.” Jasper rolled over. “So, how about you? How’d you get into botany?”  
“Ah…” Saffron placed his hand on his chin. “I-it isn’t a very exciting story. Are you sure you’d like to hear about it?”  
“By all means, go ahead. It’s not like I have anywhere else to be.”  
“Okay…” Saffron took a deep breath.

“W-well, as I was growing up, my family wasn’t the most… stable. We moved around America a lot. A-and by that, I mean moving to different states all over. I’ve lived in Illinois, Tennessee, Mississippi… my most recent home was in Florida, actually.”  
“Damn,” said Jasper. “Why?”  
“Oh… well, my parents found lots of job opportunities all around America. As I said before, we weren’t very stable, so they had to switch around a lot. I-I have relatives all over the states, so we tended to move in with them very often when we couldn’t afford a house of our own.”  
“I see.”  
“A-anyways, I’m getting off track here…” mumbled Saffron. “So, we moved around very often. The relatives that we stayed with always lived in quite rural areas. I m-mean, we basically were surrounded with forests and all that. So… um, I guess i got curious about the types of plants growing all over, so I picked up a few books on botany and read them in my spare time. My parents were very… um, enthusiastic about me getting into the sciences, so they enrolled me in a bunch of programs for it. S-so, all in all, I kept studying it because I found it interesting and was able to study plants from all over because of the constant moving. O-oh, and when we got settled down in Florida, my older cousin took me to her university’s science labs, and I was able to help out with a lot of research and development there. A-and… I was surprised. I didn’t think I was good enough to do that. B-but… after a lot of work, we were able to engineer some new plant species. So I think that was a bit of a nice accomplishment…”  
“What are you saying?” asked Jasper incredulously. “That’s an amazing accomplishment. You should feel proud of yourself. And this all happened before the age of thirteen?”  
“Yes…” replied Saffron. Jasper noticed that the other boy had stopped shaking so much, and his stutter wasn’t as bad as it usually was. He smiled as Saffron continued. “Then after that, RIMI contacted my family and I was scouted as the Super Stellar Botanist. But honestly… oh, I don’t know how to put this. I… I know that I deserve the title, but I still have a feeling that I’m just not good enough.”  
“Saffron, you got into the best school in the country and was able to assist professional scientists at the age of twelve. You’re good enough.”  
“I… I suppose so.”  
Jasper glanced at the clock— 11:56. He raised an eyebrow. Had it really been this long? “Hey Saff, it’s almost lunch,” he said, gesturing to the clock. “We should get going.”  
“O-oh, yes, definitely…” Saffron hopped off the bed and pulled on his boots. He held the door open for Jasper, then the two walked out and began making their way to the dining hall. 

“Thank you, by the way…” said Saffron suddenly. “For, um, talking to me and all.”  
“It’s no problem,” replied Jasper. “It was great to get to know more about you. And hey, if you need anyone to talk to, I’m here. And about the killing game situation, just… try to think a bit more positively, okay?”  
A small smile appeared on Saffron’s face. “Th-thank you,” he stammered. “Really, thank you. You’ve been too kind.” Then, his eyes shot open and he turned back around. “Oh, darn… I left my backpack in my cabin, didn’t I?” He sighed and turned to Jasper. “Uh, you can go ahead… I’ll be at the dining hall in a bit.”  
Jasper nodded. “Of course, of course. See you there.”

With that, Saffron began walking back to his cabin. Jasper turned and watched him go with a smile. When the other boy had disappeared from view, he turned and continued his walk to the dining hall. He had to admit, when he’d first met him, he was a bit hesitant to become friends with Saffron. But after the conversation the two had just shared, he firmly believed that he had made the right choice. Though he had only known him for a few days, Saffron was one of the most pleasant seeming individuals Jasper had ever met— he just needed a bit of a self esteem boost, is all. Also, Jasper really couldn’t help but admit that he thought that Saffron was a bit cute, too.

***

As the clock struck twelve, the fourteen students filed into the dining hall as usual. Unlike the previous days, there was a noticeable lack of energy in the room. Each student quietly took their seat and began serving themselves food. Today called for small peanut butter and jelly sandwiches— a lot less grandiose than Rowan’s previous meals, but nobody complained. For the first time since they’d arrived at the camp, the students ate in silence. After the tragic deaths of Jolie and Thomas, the class had lost their spark.

Once the plates were put away and the tables were wiped clean, lunchtime came to an end. The fourteen remaining students sat back down at the dining table, looks of wariness and uncertainty on their faces. Breaking the silence, Rowan spoke up.

ROWAN: “Alright everyone, we need to discuss the recent events.”  
POPPY: “Darn, do we really have to?”  
TATE: “Hmm, I like pretending that all of it never happened."  
ROWAN: "Come on, guys. We can't keep living in oblivion."  
ANABEL: “Alright, then… what is it that you’d like to discuss, specifically? We were all there. We all saw Thomas’s body, we all watched Jolie's excruciating death onstage. There isn’t much to discuss, hm?”  
ROWAN: “Well, I’d like to talk about how to prevent another murder.”  
MARION: “There she goes again.”  
ROWAN: “I think we should discuss the circumstances that led to this whole mess— why Jolie killed Thomas.”  
VALERIE: “Huh? Weren’t you listening to her sad, shitty speech before she died? She killed him because she was dumb enough to go for the mole all by herself!”  
ROWAN: “Yes, Valerie, I know. But I’d like to talk about the motive— the incentive that Monokuma gave us.”  
PENNY: “Oh, the tickets?”  
ROWAN: “Mhm. The tickets. They were supposed to give those who received them a free pass to kill anyone without a trial, given that the body is discovered before midnight. Let’s talk about that for a minute.”  
JASPER: "Who got one? I sure didn't."  
MARION: “I didn’t get one either.”  
ROWAN: “Okay, the important thing is not who got them. Let’s talk about why Monokuma gave us this chance in the first place. What is Monokuma’s reason to do this?”  
BLAKE: "Because he wants us to fuckin' murder each other, yo! It's a motive!"  
ELLIOT: “Yes, but… I think what she’s trying to ask us is why Monokuma’s doing this in the first place. Does he just want to kill all of us, or is there a greater purpose behind the killing game?”  
NOLAN: “But if that ol’ bear wanted to kill all of us, why didn’t he just throw us all into that there execution chamber? It’d make things a lot quicker.”  
ELLIOT: “So it’s clear that Monokuma’s purpose is not just to get rid of us. Anyone have any ideas as to what his purpose is?”  
POPPY: “Hmm… maybe he has something against RIMI? I mean, we’re all Super Stellars, right?”  
ELLIOT: “But why would he set up this game? Why would he go through the whole process of building the camp, the executions… everything! Look, if anyone has any ideas at all, please speak up.”  
OLIVE: “God, I don’t know… what if we’re being punished for something?”  
PENNY: “Punished? For what? I’m a good child.”  
OLIVE: “Alright, but we woke up without our memories.”  
ELLIOT: “I mean, it’s a possibility.”  
ROWAN: “What terrible things could we all have done to land us in such a despairing situation?”  
BLAKE: “Nah, I haven’t done anything, dudette! I swear on my life! I’ve never broken a law in my life, and I don’t intend to!”  
ANABEL: “I find that extremely hard to believe.”  
BLAKE: “Fine, fine… I might’ve pirated some music back in the day, but that doesn’t mean anything, yo!”  
ROWAN: “Look, I can’t see us as criminals. I don’t think that’s the reason.”  
TATE: “Well, um, I do remember Monokuma saying something about how he wanted the trials to be interesting and entertaining for him. Maybe… this sounds messed up, but maybe he’s doing this for his own entertainment?”  
POPPY: “What? That’s so… cruel!”  
CARMEN: “Yeah, no. Nobody’s evil enough to just kill a bunch of teenagers for their own goddamn entertainment.”  
ELLIOT: “There must be a bigger reason behind this game, but… I can’t think of anything right now.”  
MONOKUMA: “Hey guys! What’re you talking about?”  
CARMEN: “Oh, we’re talkin’ about how fucked up you are.”  
MONOKUMA: “Aww, really? That’s so sweet of you. I feel so loved!”  
JASPER: “What do you want now?”  
MONOKUMA: “Hm? Nothing. I just wanted to check up on my sweet little contestants. Y’know how much I love you guys?”  
MARION: “Not really, no.”  
MONOKUMA: “Hmph! Well, I just wanted to let you suckers know that the bridge gate has opened! There’s no more need for the matches and gasoline now, is there, Marion?”  
OLIVE: “The bridge is open? Why?”  
MONOKUMA: “Yep! Didn’t I tell you guys that the bridge would be opened up after a trial’s done? Golly, I’m so proud of you guys… now go forth! You all deserve to go explore!”  
SAFFRON: “Explore…?”  
MONOKUMA: “Of course! A new island has been unlocked for you to explore! Think of all the possibilities! I’m sure some of our new locations will fuel your imagination.”  
VALERIE: “Hold up, hold up! So you’re tellin’ me that the fuckin’ bridge doesn’t lead back to the mainland?”  
MONOKUMA: “Huh? Of course not. What were you expecting?”  
ANABEL: “I see… everyone, I believe we should go investigate this new island for any clues.”  
ROWAN: “Yes, of course. So should we split up like last time?”  
ANABEL: “I think that would be for the best. Everyone, please split into groups of about three to four once again.”  
MONOKUMA: “Clues? You’re not gonna find any clues! Do you think I’m stupid enough to leave them just lying around for you? Yeesh!”  
ROWAN: “Ignore the bear. Everyone, let’s go.”

Once the groups were formed, the students all exited the dining hall and made their way towards the large wooden bridge. When they got there, they immediately noticed that the large wooden gates had indeed been opened, allowing access to the new island. The students shared looks of uncertainty as they stepped up on the bridge and began the long walk to the new island.

From the looks of it, the camp had been split into islands. As they walked, Tate noticed that aside from the new island, there wasn’t any land in sight. The only thing visible for miles and miles away was the blue water on the lake. In fact, one couldn’t even call it a lake anymore— it was more like an ocean. They turned to their right and noticed another wooden bridge identical to the one they were walking on extending towards what appeared to be another island. Tate raised an eyebrow at this. How many islands were there…? They shook their head. No. They didn’t want to know how many islands there were. 

They didn’t even want to unlock another one.

Eventually, the students reached the end of the bridge. Before them was a beautiful new island, slightly smaller than the first. Like the first island, dense forests covered most of the land. Above the trees, one could see what appeared to be the tip of a tall mountain. With that, the groups parted ways and ventured off into the unknown.

***

"That's one big-ass mountain," Jasper muttered as he, Carmen, Olive, and Rowan slowly emerged from the forest behind it, though the mountain was hard to miss. It towered over the entire forest and island, reaching the top of the sky and nearly kissing the clouds. The four had been hiking around for about half an hour trying to discover what laid inside.  
"Finally!" Olive panted and began circling the perimeter. "Now, show us what juicy treasures you're hiding! We didn't trade Thomas and Jolie for a big hunk o' rock!"  
"Are you not tired, Olive?" Rowan placed her jacket on the ground and sat down on it to prevent dirt stains on her pants. "One of the many benefits of being an athlete, I suppose."  
Olive shrugged nonchalantly. "I'm just fit, I guess. I used to train a lot with my mom when I was younger— we'd race or compete each other constantly."  
"Hey, wait for me!" Carmen jogged toward The Archer, ditching her sweater with Jasper. "I bet there's a secret door hidden somewhere!" Her eyes sparkled with anticipation. "Maybe there'll be a bunch of cool weapons we can use."  
"Or maybe… there'll be a bunch of beds we can all sleep in,” said Jasper. “Am I the only one here who's exhausted? Like, I could literally take a nap right now." Jasper sighed. "If I had to kill to get a six hour nap, I would."  
Carmen stifled her laughter. "Like you'd have the strength to. You'd probably fall asleep in the middle of it!."  
Rowan bit her lip and frowned. "Jasper, please don't speak of such things. Anyway, I'll help you search, I suppose. Jasper, too." The two nodded in her direction and continued poking at every stone. 

Several minutes later, Carmen discovered an rusty, wooden door at the back of the mountain facing the vast ocean. A large metal door knocker with imprinted with Monokuma's face sat in the middle.  
"Hey, guys? I found the door to whatever's inside," She shouted to them and struggled to pull the knocker, but was too heavy for her.  
"Let's try pulling together," suggested Rowan, but no such luck. The door seemed as stuck as the door to the fishing shed.  
"Let me try," Jasper piped up and slowly walked towards the doors. "I'm obviously the strongest out of the three of us." Within a few seconds, the Jeweler had swung the doors open easily revealing a grandiose room that was similar to a hotel or apartment lobby. A reception office sat opposite to the main doors. Plush sofas and coffee tables backed up against the wall, and the room was adorned with fake potted plants in every corner. A glass elevator hid behind the large fountain on the other side of the room. Small bowls were filled with mint candies, wrapped in plain black and white papers.  
"Fancy," Jasper sighed heavily and lied down on the nearest loveseat. "You guys have fun exploring this place. I'll be over here stuffing myself with mints and taking a nice, long nap." He scooped some candies in his hand and closed his eyes. In seconds, the Jeweler was out cold.  
The two athletic girls strode over to the elevator and pushed the "up" button curiously. "Hey, Rowan? Where does this lead to?" Olive questioned as the bell dinged and the metal doors slid open.  
"I'm not entirely sure, but I think I should stay here with Jasper, just to make sure he's okay. I need to talk to him about a few things anyways."  
Olive glanced at the Pathologist with a questioning look, but Rowan ducked her head and avoided her gaze. Carmen didn't seem to notice and shrugged. "Sure, suit yourself." The pair squeezed inside together. There was only one button to press, and it had Monokuma's face imprinted on it. "I guess this is the only place to go," Carmen muttered and slowly pushed it. The elevator shot up immediately, past the trees until they could overlook most of the island.  
As they sped upward, Carmen seemed perfectly content, however Olive's face was turning a rather unpleasant shade of green as she held her hands to her stomach.  
"I'll… I'll be fine. Just give me… a minute." She closed her eyes and leaned her back against the wall just as the elevator slowed to a stop and the metal doors slid open once again to reveal another smaller, squared room. The same sofas and tables from the lobby were stationed at the left side. Three washroom doors faced the elevator, marked with "Guys, Gals, and Non-Binary Pals." A large glass window covered nearly the entire right side of the room, showing the entirety of the island. It would have looked like an ordinary room, had it not been for the strange machine sitting next to the washroom doors. At first glance, it seemed like a regular brightly-coloured arcade machine. Again, Monokuma's face was plastered all over it, and the controls only included a power button, four simple arrows for up, down, left, and right and a button with a large check mark. A big slot was placed underneath that, followed by an even bigger slot that had enough room to fit a chair in.  
"So, I see you've discovered my precious Monomono Machine!" The bear suddenly appeared behind the girls, startling them. He chuckled. "I'm sure you have a ton of questions for me! How does this glorious machine work? Why are you the bestest and most handsomest bear ever? What—"  
"Yeah yeah, just tell us how this thing works you stupid bear," Olive interrupted. "Out with it."  
"Well, well, well… If you must know, this machine is one of my own creation! Starting right now, you can all earn my very special Monocoins, and redeem them here for prizes! Let's take a look, shall we?" The robotic bear bounced over to the side of the machine and flicked it on. The screen came to life, flashing all sorts of random, miscellaneous objects such as a pumpkin, origami sheets, and spearmints.  
"What the fuck?" Carmen crossed her arms. "This stuff is useless. You can get these anywhere! How do you earn these dumb Monocoins anyways?"  
"Please, kiddos!" Monokuma held up a paw. "One question at a time! I'm a very busy bear! First of all, these items are, in fact, not useless. Just think— if you wanted to murder a classmate but couldn't think of how, just grab something here! Nobody would ever know—"  
"Nobody here's murderin' anyone!" Olive cried.  
"You say that now," Monokuma said. "Just wait 'till you see the despair on your "friend's" faces when you're all dead! Upupupu! Secondly, you can earn these beautiful coins by meeting goals. For example, the current goal is to smack one of your classmates on the face! When you do, you'll get a coin. Put the coin into the slot, get a murder weapon, and you're good!"  
"This is all fuckin' useless. No one's smacking anyone. Come on, let's just leave." Carmen scowled and pressed the elevator button to return to the lobby. With a ding, the metal doors slid open once again. The two stepped inside, and when they turned around, Monokuma had disappeared once again.

"So, what do you think of this Monomono Machine?" Olive asked Rowan and Jasper after she told them what Monokuma had explained earlier. Rowan sighed.  
"I don't believe many people will use it. The objects are not desirable enough, and I don't want to think that anyone would injure each other for the sake of those items."  
"I agree with Rowan," Jasper said. "Monokuma's getting more stupid each day— it's just a matter of time until we outsmart him."  
Carmen rolled her eyes exasperatedly. "Yeah, yeah. Let's just go back— this was a dumb waste of time. The others will be waiting for us anyway." Jasper peered at Olive for a few seconds and contemplated saying something to her, but decided to stay silent and followed his three classmates out the doors once again.

***

"The Great Penelope Claire has discovered… something amazing! Something brilliant! Something extraordinary!" Penny shoved some thick branches aside and bounded excitedly towards the grassy clearing near the edge of the second island. In the near distance sat a nearly crumbling cabin covered in moss.  
"What the hell's so exciting about some old cabin?" Valerie grumbled as she blew several strands of hair off her face. "It looks like it's been here for ages, just rotting away."  
"Cheer up, Val!" Blake stepped towards the rickety door. "This could be a secret portal to Narnia! Or Hogwarts! Or—"  
"... Or it could just be a waste of time?"  
"Oh, don't be a useless fungal infection! You're making everyone here feel uncomfortable because of your half-chewed pencilness! I can sense it! Hm. This old cabin will be used for something… incredibly important and eye-opening! Just think of the possibilities! Blake, any spectacular ideas?"  
The DJ scratched his head, confused. "Actually, it really does look like an old useless cabin from here."  
"Nonsense! Look, I'm going to kick down this door and show you an adventurous new world you never expected!" Penny marched confidently onto to the wooden deck in front of the door and prepared herself in a position similar to a ninja about to attack.  
"HI-YA!" With one swift kick, The door swung sideways effortlessly, revealing nothing but an empty room identical to their cabins. Dust was collecting in the corners, and cobwebs hung on the ceiling. The place seemed as though it had been abandoned for quite a while, save for the clean, white foldable tables in the far right corner and three doors— two on the left, and another on the far end of the room.  
"Sick!" Blake said. Valerie raised her eyebrows. "This place looks like it's going through final exams and forgot to study the night before."  
"Well yeah, but we could host a party here, yo! This place is huge! I can just imagine, like, the food stand over in that right corner, the DJ stand in that corner, everybody grinding in the middle… Man, can we have a party here? Pretty please with a cherry on top? Val, you gotta host with me. We'd have the most wicked party ever, trust me." Blake glances towards the door on the left wall closest to him. "I wonder where this leads too…"  
"Let's find out!" Penny kicked the door again, but nothing awaited the trio except for a few shelves stacked together in a small room the size of a washroom.  
"We can use this room for, uh… food storage!" Blake grinned. "What kind of snacks should we have? Chips and cookies are always a classic, but we could mix things up a little—"  
"I don't think we should be having a party," Valerie interrupted. "I mean, Jolie and Thomas just died. Not everybody's gonna be in a partying mood."  
"Well… then it won't be just any party! It'll be… wait for it… a memorial party! For our two dead besties! Everybody can come and, uh, pay their respects. Be all serious and shit."  
Blake poked his head out the door to the main hall. "This place is actually perfect. I mean, have you ever seen a place more fit for a party?"  
Penny frowned. "I bet Rowan will not approve of that at all! She's all strict about partying! She hasn't partied in twelve bajillion years! I can tell!"  
"I can see why you're the Super Stellar Seer," Valerie mumbled under her breath. This whole party-business was ridiculous to her, really. She was sure someone would be murdered if they did actually hold it, and she wasn't sure Blake's idea of 'memorial party' matched the rest of the class's.  
"What's in here?" questioned Valerie as she and Penny followed Blake back into the main hall and into the next room. Brightly-coloured sofas and coffee tables were lined up against the walls, and a large stage-like area was in the corner. It had two microphones set up on the podium, and swishy black curtains swooped to the side.  
"Dudes! Dudettes. Whatever. This place could be so totally perfect for… wait for it… karaoke!" Blake gasped when they had entered. "The stage! The seats! The lights! That empty corner over there! I'm telling you— this party has to happen. Valerie, do a duet with me!" Penny jumped onto the platform excitedly.  
"Ooh, this could be a specular place for karaoke! Good idea, Blake!" The DJ made a pointed look at Valerie.  
"Yeah, good idea, Blake," He echoed. "Val. You are the only thing standing in the way of one awesome, super sweet kickass memorial party. Come on, yo! We'll do a duet together! Please?" He put on a puppy face and sat down on a nearby sofa, bouncing.  
"Yo, these couches are nice! If anyone faints from my good looks, we can just drop 'em off here!"  
"I'm glad you're so considerate," Valerie rolled her eyes and walked out of the lounge area. "Let's just check out where this last door leads to." Blake and Penny followed her, only to wind up in a long hallway.  
"Huh? What's this?" Penny asked as she peeked her head through the door. "There's yet another door on the left… and more hallway on the right! This place is a maze!" The Seer turned left and pushed open a plainer door.  
"Oh… it's just a bathroom. Goody! If people throw up, there's a toilet!" She smiled happily and gestured to the long hallway. "Come, friends! Let us investigate this new and mysterious place!" The three followed the path, only to end up in a minimalist kitchen. Two large beige fridges stood at the side, and a sink and marble counter was on the other side. More shelves filled with utensils and containers lined the walls, and another swinging door at the back corner led back outside. It was only locked with a chain lock and lacked a doorknob.  
"Oh, this is just a plain old boring kitchen!" Penny pouted. "This place is so boring. I'm going to go back, I'm hungry. See you guys later!" She then ran out of the back door quickly and disappeared.  
"So," Blake said as soon as her footsteps had gone silent. "What do you think?"  
The Lucky Student bit her lip and sighed. "It's a pretty good place, I guess. A little decor and renovation and it'd be an okay place to live."

"You're correct!" A familiar voice startled the pair. They spun around quickly to see the obnoxious black-and-white robot sitting on top of one of the fridges, swinging his legs. "This place indeed was going to be the living quarters for you people!"  
"Geez, stop scaring us!" Valerie shrieked as she smoothed her dress. "You're gonna make us have a heart attack before someone else fucking murders us."  
"Upupup! I just want you to be informed! These were the original bedrooms— isn't that nice to know?"  
"Eh, it's kind of useless information. Are you gonna leave yet, or what…?" She crossed her arms and glared at him.  
"Aw, phooey! I'm so offended! Anyways, have fun planning your murders! Toodles!" Monokuma then promptly strode out of the kitchen, humming a strange tune to himself.  
"That bear always comes at the most annoying times," Blake muttered. "Anyways! Valerie, this is a sign from the universe. We gotta throw a sick-ass party here."  
"Blake, shut the hell up for two seconds. Listen— I would say yes, but two of our friends just died. Nobody's really in the party mood, including me."  
"I solved this problem earlier! A memorial party! Look, I'll say a little blurb in the beginning about our dead classmates, 'kay? Please?" The DJ whined.  
"... Fine," she finally complied.  
"Yes!" Blake pumped his fist in the air and walked out of the kitchen. "This is gonna be the best party ever, yo! Do you think we should get Nolan to help us plan? I'll go ask him!" He rushed out before Valerie could have a chance to respond. For a brief moment, she wondered if she had made the wrong decision, but shook the feeling off and left to meet the others. Blake seemed so excited and sure about this event, after all. What could possibly go wrong at a party?

***

“Hm,” muttered Elliot, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “What’s this place?”

Poppy, Elliot and Nolan stood before a tall, barn-like building. It was quite plain— the structure was painted a dull blue and lacked any windows. Up in front were steel double doors, a small plaque nailed above it. The building didn’t have any interesting aspects to it, but the group knew not to judge a book by its cover. Maybe there was something interesting inside. Nolan stepped forward to inspect the tiny plaque, squinting his eyes to read the letters.

“Warehouse…” he mumbled, turning to the group. He sighed. “Sounds boring. Can we leave this to some other group?”  
“A warehouse?! Boring?” Poppy grinned. “This is exciting, c’mon! Imagine all the neat stuff that could be in here! I could totally build some cool things if I have the right materials” She bounded up to the steel doors and pushed one open. “Well, what are we waiting for?” she asked, holding it open. “Let’s check this place out!”

Elliot immediately entered the warehouse, ducking slightly under the doorframe. Nolan followed suit, blowing a raspberry at Poppy as he passed by.  
“Nerd,” he sneered. “We could’ve been checking out the cool places, like that sick ass mountain! But no… we get the boring warehouse!”  
“Quit whining,” said Elliot sternly. “Let’s start investigating.”

The three students split up in order to cover more ground. The warehouse was dimly lit, making it hard to see anything. The dim, flickering light bulb hanging from the ceiling was the only source of light in the room. It hung by a mere string and appeared as if it could fall at any moment. The room was filled with rows and rows of shelves, each of them stocked with cardboard boxes and miscellaneous objects. It was quite messy— there were many old-looking objects scattered around on the ground, as well as puddles and dirt stains everywhere. While Elliot and Nolan found the place repulsive, Poppy saw it as a goldmine.

Elliot warily made his way through the aisles, carrying a small flashlight he had found as a light source. The Angler felt as if he was in a horror game. The dim lighting, dripping puddles and maze-like environment didn’t help. He turned to inspect the shelf next to him, pulling the cardboard box out and rummaging through the contents. To his surprise, the box contained all sorts of dangerous weapons. He pulled out a couple of grenades and a few throwing stars, then continued digging. At the very bottom was a plain-looking towel and a pack of pens. He sighed and placed the box back to its original location. This place was filled with the most random items.

He continued walking, turning the other way when he saw Poppy in an aisle. He needed to cover more ground, so it didn’t make sense to go that way if Poppy had already explored it. He continued walking down the aisles— they all looked the same to him. He had taken the time to peer in a few more boxes, but all he had found were more weapons, some toolboxes and some containers of cyanide. Nothing of interest, it seemed. He eventually reached the back wall, where a number of weapons lay against the wall. Spears, tridents, rifles… this place scared him. All these new weapons would make it so much easier for a murder to occur.

Elliot shook his head and turned back. Aside from maybe the stacks of old books he had found in one box, nothing piqued his interest. Suddenly, his flashlight flickered out. He sighed and returned it to a nearby shelf. It was no good to him anymore.  
He squinted in an attempt to see in the dark. It was difficult, but he could make out outlines of the shelves and boxes. He stepped over the large puddles on the ground and continued making his way towards the exit.

Then suddenly, a cold finger tapped him on his shoulder.

Immediately turning around, Elliot’s eyes widened in horror when he saw a masked person behind him, a chainsaw in hand. Instinctively, he yelled out a curse and landed a hard slap against the person’s cheek. The masked person let out a familiar cry and fell to the ground.

“Ow, Elliot!” cried Nolan, removing the mask and rubbing against his sore cheek. “That really hurt. Not as much as it did when Carmen slapped me, though.” The Equestrian laughed and placed the chainsaw on a nearby shelf. “Elliot, you went so pale! Paler than you usually are, I mean! I didn’t think that was even possible!”  
Elliot grimaced at him and adjusted his glasses. “Shut up,” he muttered.

Suddenly, a gleaming golden coin appeared out of nowhere and landed in his hand. He raised an eyebrow at it. “What the…?” He turned it over only to find Monokuma’s face on it. “What’s this…?”  
Nolan gasped. “Elliot! You truly can do magic!” he said, placing a hand over his mouth. “I thought Penny’s training was bullshit, but looks like magic really is real…”  
Elliot shook his head and shoved the coin in his jacket pocket. “I’ll have to ask Monokuma about this weird coin later,” he said quietly. He turned to Nolan. “Have you seen Poppy? I think we’ve covered everything here.”  
“Haven’t seen her, no.” Nolan turned to inspect a box. “This warehouse is so boring. Next time we unlock a new island, I’m calling dibs on the funnest place there!”

“Hey guys!”

Elliot and Nolan turned to find Poppy hurrying up to them, a heavy bag and a toolbox in her hands. “I’m all set, are you guys ready to head out?”  
The Angler raised an eyebrow at her. “What’s all this?” he asked, leaning in to look into the bag.  
Poppy grinned up at him. “Just some cool things I found that I could probably use to make some nifty contraptions around here,” she said. “Plus, some neat books on engineering that I haven’t read yet. Don’t get me wrong, the bio and mystery books in the camp store are great, but I need some reading material that actually interests me, y’know?”  
“Coolio, coolio, good for you.” Nolan turned and began walking towards the exit. “This place is for nerds,” he scoffed. “The only cool things here are the guns and chainsaws!”  
“I worry about you if those are the only things you find cool in here,” said Poppy, pushing open the doors once more. “Anyway, let’s go meet up with the others at the dining hall. I think Rowan would want to know about some of the more… dangerous things we’ve found here.”

***

On the other side of the island, Tate, Marion, Anabel and Saffron travelled in search of any notable locations. Fortunately the woods on this island weren’t as dense as the previous one, but it was still tough to get around. The second island wasn’t as large as the first one, luckily. The main attraction of the new island seemed to be the giant mountain in the center of it all, but it seemed that another group had gotten to it first. Aside from the mountain, the second island was surprisingly bare.

Soon enough, something colourful came into few. Glancing towards each other, the group took off towards the colours, wondering what they’d stumbled upon. When they finally emerged from the trees, they stopped, taken aback by the sight in front of them. Marion’s eyes grew wide.

“Look at this!” he exclaimed, gesturing angrily to the sight in front of them. He gave a fake laugh. “In exchange for two dead bodies, we’ve got ourselves a fucking playground!”

In front of the group was a colourful playground, akin to ones found in public parks. Each piece of equipment was painted in bright shades of red, yellow, green and blue. On the left side of the park was several swing sets. The opposite side had a couple of towers, slides and ladders running down every side. Near the middle was a roundabout and two seesaws. Hanging off a nearby tree was a tire swing and a hanging rope, clearly meant to be used to swing into the nearby lake. Most of the equipment looked rather small for the students— the playground was clearly built for a younger population.

Anabel scoffed. “How old does Monokuma think we are?” she muttered. “Eight?” She shook her head as she stepped over the wooden planks and into the wood chips. She turned back to her group and gestured to the new area, an incredulous look on her face. “Look at this!” she exclaimed, her eyes wide. “Little swing sets! A little fairy castle! An idiotic mural of a princess! A seesaw with animal sculptures on it! This is no place for a group of Super Stellars. This is just plain insulting!”  
“I think that’s the point,” said Tate under their breath. They stepped into the playground and took a seat on the swings. “The swings… they, uh, they’re not too bad. They’re fun.”  
Anabel rolled her eyes. “I suppose. The truly embarrassing piece of equipment here has to be the seesaw.” She strode over to it and peered at the horse sculpture. “Who’d want to ride on this piece of trash?”  
“Nolan would!” Saffron offered, moving over to the seesaw. “Doesn’t he love horses?”  
Marion raised an eyebrow. “Alright, but aside from the childish brat, who’d want to ride on this piece of shit?” He sighed and sauntered over to the slides. “Look at this fairy princess castle,” he muttered. “You’ve even got a shitty painting of Monokuma as a princess looking through the window. This place is so tacky.”  
Tate began pushing themself back and forth on the swing. “Are we leaving yet?” they asked. “This place isn’t too interesting.”  
Marion nodded. “This place is dumb. Let’s leave.”

“Wait! Wait!”

Marion turned around. “What is it?”  
Saffron approached Marion, a childish glint in his eyes. “Th-this is really awkward, but… can you ride on the seesaw with me?”  
“Are you a fucking child?”  
He nodded. “Yes, Marion. We’re… we’re thirteen.” He smiled and took his hand. “Let’s go! It’ll be fun, I think. I… I just want to take my mind off the situation, I guess.”  
Marion pulled his hand away. “No. No. Definitely not. Hands off, flower boy,” he snarled.  
Saffron sighed and shoved his hands into his pockets. “Of course… I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked. Th-that was childish of me, and we’re in such a h-horrible scenario… I’m so sorry.”  
The Puppeteer glared at him. Ah, he was trying to guilt trip him, eh? It was a tactic to get people to do what they wanted— he was trying to manipulate him. He wouldn’t fall for his evil ways. But then again, the seesaw was right there and Saffron looked pretty damn sad. Maybe he should just give it a try. After all, he knew his life was on a time limit, what with the whole killing game scenario. Marion sighed.

“Fine, I’ll ride the fucking seesaw with you.”

Saffron gasped. “Really?” he asked. “I m-mean, if you don’t want to, it’s fine… I don’t want to force you t-to do anything you’re uncomfortable with, and I mean, we’re in a killing game and there’s better things to t-tend to, so—”  
“Hop on and let’s get this over with.”

Marion cringed as he climbed up on the cow. Why was he doing this? He’d never ridden a seesaw in his life. Hell, as far as he could remember, he hadn’t ever gone to a park in his life. He always found these types of places stupid— there wasn’t a point to them. It was just mindless fun for children. But here he sat, age thirteen, bobbing up and down on a cow sculpture with his annoying classmate.

Since Marion was much heavier than Saffron, his side of the seesaw stayed low to the ground as the Botanist was almost catapulted into the air. He shook his head. “This is ridiculous,” he said. “Look at you, you’re about to go flying.” Saffron shrugged and continued bobbing up and down on his seat. The seesaw barely moved due to their weights, but he looked like he was having fun anyway.  
“I-I’ll be alright… this is just fun, is all.”  
“How the fuck is this fun?” spat Marion. “I’m leaving.” He shook his head and stepped off the seesaw. Saffron let out a cry as he dropped to the ground. He grunted as he got himself off the ground and dusted off the wood chips from his jeans.  
“N-no, wait! I have an idea!” Saffron boarded the seesaw once again and gestured for Marion to sit. “This time, you should sit closer to the center. Th-then… then maybe this’ll be easier for us.”  
Marion folded his arms. “Nope. Not going. Why don’t you ask…” He turned to the other members of the exploration group. “Tate? Tate, you want to go on the seesaw?”  
Tate shook their head. “How much do you weigh, Marion?”  
“Around a hundred, a bit more. You?”  
“Same.”  
Marion sighed. “Anabel?”  
Anabel wrinkled her face in disgust. “I’d rather die,” she said bluntly, sitting down on a nearby bench. “Besides,” she added, “I’m heavier than all of you.”  
Marion rolled his eyes. “Fine, we’ll try your idea.” Saffron beamed as Marion strode back to the seesaw and took his seat, this time closer to the center. Saffron pushed off the ground and much to his surprise, the two bobbed up and down evenly.  
“This… this is fun!”  
“It’s really not.”

Anabel scoffed as she watched the two boys making fools of themselves on the seesaw. “Look at them,” she said. “Boys are so… immature. Am I right?”  
Tate sat on the bench beside her. “I suppose.”  
“Us girls are much more mature and intelligent,” Anabel said. “You’re an author, and I’m a lawyer. We’re so much better than those two nimrods.” She paused. “Actually, Saffron is the Super Stellar Botanist, correct? He must be somewhat intelligent. However, he hasn’t demonstrated his botanical knowledge, so that combined with his suspicious personality is why he’s my main suspect for the liar.”  
“You think that Saffron’s the liar?”  
Anabel nodded. “It makes sense,” she said. “He’s much too shy. It’s like he’s hiding something. Tate, you must beware the quiet ones.”  
“I guess.” Tate relaxed in their seat. “Also, I’m not a girl.”  
Anabel raised an eyebrow. “You aren’t? You sound like one. Well, I do suppose that your name is quite masculine, so I understand. Apologies.” She gave a light laugh. “I feel as foolish as Blake did when he mistook Saffron for a girl.”  
“Actually, I'm not a guy either,” said Tate quietly. “I’m not really either one.”  
Anabel paused, then nodded. “Ah, I understand. Apologies once again. Do you prefer using the pronouns they and them? Or… what do you feel comfortable with?”  
Tate smiled. “Yeah, that’s right. They and them. Thanks.”  
“You’re welcome.” Anabel returned to watching her classmates on the seesaw. The two were bouncing up and down so vigorously that it looked like the poor little seesaw was about to break. Then, Saffron let out a cry of surprise and fell off the side of the seesaw, hitting the ground with a thud. Anabel held back laughter as the boy started pulling wood chips out of his messy hair. She turned to Tate.  
“So, what do you think of this class?” she asked.  
“What? Uh, I think they’re nice.”  
Anabel shook her head. “Give me details. Be specific. Say, what do you think of… Olive?”  
Tate shrugged. “She’s nice,” they said simply.  
“Be specific, Tate.”  
“I don’t know, I don’t want to say anything that might come out sounding mean. That’s not me.”  
“Come on, she isn’t around.” Anabel glanced around, then back to Tate. “This’ll stay between us gi— us two. Apologies, once again.”  
Tate thought for a moment. Olive wasn’t around, so they could say whatever they wanted. But it was mean to gossip about people. They knew about how terrible it felt to be talked about behind their back— should they really be doing the same to Olive? They took a deep breath.  
“Why are you so interested?”  
Anabel pressed her lips together in a tight smile. “No reason,” she said innocently. “I suppose I’m just curious. How about this? If you tell me your honest opinion on some people in this class, I’ll allow you a spot in a group I’m forming. Just… tell me who you suspect, why, and your opinions on certain characters in this class.”  
"Your… group?"  
Anabel nodded. “Jolie’s motive in the trial had me thinking— we should be working to find the identity of the mole and the liar. To do so, I am putting together a group of our class’s most intelligent individuals to solve this mystery.” She smiled and crossed her legs. “Tate, I do believe you qualify. I’ve read your works— both fiction and nonfiction. You have some very interesting insights on our world.”  
Tate wasn’t sure how to respond. “Ah, thank you,” they finally said. “But why must we form a special group when we can just, y’know, work as a class?”  
“Because although we are all classified as Super Stellars, not all of us have proper critical thinking skills,” she said matter-of-factly. “I’ve learned that during the trial. Thus, I believe it is important that we gather only the most intellectually gifted students to figure out the mysteries of this campgrounds.”  
Tate raised an eyebrow. “Who else are you recruiting?”  
“Ah… you’re the first one,” said Anabel. “I do have some ideas, however. Rowan is a given— I have some respect for that girl. Elliot claimed that he was the valedictorian, also he demonstrated some form of intelligence during the trial. So I’m thinking of recruiting him as well.” She smiled. “All you have to do to claim a spot in ASFIM is tell me who you suspect and what you think of some people in the class. I already recognize your intelligence, so this is a simple ticket into my exclusive group.”  
“ASFIM?”  
“Anabel’s Society for Intelligent Minds.”  
“That sounds a bit pretentious.”  
“Just answer my questions, for heaven’s sake!”

Tate took a deep breath. “Fine. You, uh, wanted to hear my opinion on Olive, right?”  
“That’s correct. Then, who you think is the liar and the mole. I’m waiting.”  
“Olive…” Tate wasn’t very good with remembering their peers’ names, but they’d always remember Olive. Olive was the strong girl with the baggy camouflage jacket and a quiver. Olive was the girl who brought them lunch when they were too scared to leave their cabin, the girl who convinced them to be more open to the class. “She’s very strong and kind,” said Tate. “ I was admittedly, uh, intimidated by her at first, but she’s very nice. When I first met her, she reminded me of some kids who used to bully me in elementary school. So I guess I was surprised by how nice she turned out to be.”  
Anabel nodded. “I see, I see. Anything else?”  
“On the negative side, I think she can be a bit… impulsive at times. You know that she and Saffron are trying to fight the mastermind, right?”  
“Oh yes, I know.” Anabel glanced to the seesaw, making sure that Saffron was out of earshot. “It’s idiotic. To think that they genuinely think that they’ll be able to fight Monokuma…”  
“Yeah, I’m skeptical if it’ll work too.” Tate lowered their voice and added, “If anything, they’ll wind up dead if they actually go to fight Monokuma. It’s against the rules. It just…” They hesitated. “It just feels more like a suicide pact disguised as a plan to save everyone.”  
“Exactly.”  
“Anyway, back to Olive. She’s impulsive, a bit naive and too overbearing. She doesn’t even have a plan to find the identity of the mastermind, yet she thinks she can fight them. I just feel… I just feel like if she was smarter about this, she could actually do something to save everyone instead of rambling on about how hard she’s going to train.”  
“Interesting.” Anabel smiled. “I agree completely. Now if I may ask…” She glanced around, making sure that nobody was listening to their conversation. Once she was certain they weren’t being watched, she turned back to Tate. “Who do you suspect as the liar and the mole?”  
Tate thought about the question for a second. They didn’t actively suspect somebody. A few days ago, they had suspected Thomas— and apparently, Jolie had too. And both of them ended up dead in less than a week. After gathering their thoughts, Tate finally spoke. “I think the mole is Nolan.”  
“Oh? Why?”  
“I’m not sure how to put this. I know he’s childish and annoying, but I just feel like he knows more than he lets on.” Tate chuckled. “Maybe it’s just me being, y’know, paranoid and all.”  
“No, no, I understand.” Anabel smiled. “I don’t like showing it, but I’m scared too. Now, how about the liar?”  
“The liar?” Tate hadn’t really thought much about the liar. “Hmm… I understand your suspicion regarding Saffron, but I feel like he’s just genuinely like that.”  
Anabel shook her head. “Nonsense. Nobody’s that socially awkward and anxious at this age.”  
“Anabel, I don’t know what kind of society you grew up in, but it’s pretty normal to be socially anxious as a teenager.”  
“Hm, really?” Anabel pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. “That’s strange. I’ve attended prestigious private schools my entire life, and everyone there was confident and intelligent.”  
“Not everyone grew up like that, though. In fact, I’d describe myself as pretty, uh, socially awkward.”  
“Really?”  
“Yeah, I guess. I mean, I never had friends growing up. I had a bunch of bullies on my tail instead. I’ve always been nervous about normal stuff, like public speaking and meeting new people.”  
“I didn’t have many friends either, but I never had trouble with public speaking and meeting new people.”  
“People are different, Anabel.” Tate thought for awhile. “Anyway, about the liar… I’d guess Marion.”  
“Why? I mean, I do understand. He’s an uncultured swine, that’s what he is. He’s uncivil and surly. I recognize that he’s intelligent, but I just don’t like him.”  
Tate nodded. “He’s always pushing away the rest of the group, and he’s so unnecessarily aggressive when people talk to him.”  
“Yes, exactly.”

“What are you guys gossiping about?”  
Tate and Anabel were startled by the sudden interruption, then turned to see Marion there. “Why so hush-hush?”  
Anabel stood. “I see that you kids are finished on the seesaw.” She leaned in closer and glared at him. “And what we’re discussing is irrelevant to you. Stop sticking your nose into everyone’s business.”  
Marion raised an eyebrow. “We’re done, yes. Saffron’s over there tying his laces. He’ll be with us in a bit. Now.” He stepped over the wooden log and began walking back towards the thick forest. “Let’s get out of this rainbow coloured shithole. Everyone’s waiting for us, and we’ve already wasted so much time.”

***

The remaining fourteen students soon made their way back tiredly. They came in their small groups and then split up to catch up with their friends or grab a quick bite to eat. Rowan had arranged a small table of muffins, and fourteen bowls of spaghetti and meatballs. After they had all settled down for a bit, Marion broke the silence.

MARION: "We should talk about exploration."  
ROWAN: "Good idea, Marion. How about we go around the room and discuss what we discovered? I can start— Jasper, Olive, Carmen and I investigated the mountain in the centre of the second island. There is a lobby on the first first floor, and a glass elevator that takes you to the top to another lounge-like area."  
OLIVE: "That's not all, though. Apparently there's this new machine called the 'Monomono Machine'. If you meet Monokuma's daily goal, you'll get 'Monocoins', which you can exchange for a bunch of useless shit in that machine."  
JASPER: "Today's goal is to smack someone on the face. Nolan, I wish you the best of luck."  
NOLAN: "Ow! Shit, that hurt!"  
VALERIE: "Too late, motherfucker! Where's my Monocoin?!"

As soon as those words escaped her lips, a shiny golden coin appeared out of thin air and landed in the palm of her hand. 

VALERIE: "Sick. Nolan, prepare to be my human punching bag until the day we bust outta here."  
ROWAN: "Guys, please don't slap each other. We're all friends here!"  
MARION: "No, we're not. Olive, anything else?"  
OLIVE: "No, that pretty much sums it up."  
MARION: "Great. I'll go next. Anabel, Saffron, Tate and I came across a child's playground. Nothing looked out of the ordinary. Next?"  
SAFFRON: "Marion and I w-went on the seesaw…"  
MARION: "What did I say about not mentioning that? In my defense, he forced me to."  
SAFFRON: "I'm sorry! I'm bad at keeping things to m-myself!  
ANABEL: "If I recall correctly, you willingly went on the seesaw with Saffron."  
NOLAN: "Ooh, get exposed! Marion, how does it feel?!"  
MARION: "Shut up, all of you. Who's next?"  
POPPY: "Uh, I'll go! Elliot, Nolan and I found a big warehouse. It had all kinds of cool gadgets in there, and weapons too!"  
ROWAN: "... Weapons?"  
POPPY: "Aw, Rowan, don't be that person."  
ROWAN: "My apologies Poppy, but I must be precautious. I don't want anymore of you to die. Is there anyway you can lock the warehouse and prevent people from accessing these weapons?"  
POPPY: "I guess I could make a lock."  
NOLAN: "Woah, woah, woah! Tree Girl! You can't just lock everything up! The stuff inside is awesome! Swords and knives and lances and tridents! I even found a chainsaw, isn’t that neat? I scared the shit outta Poppy and Elliot!”  
ROWAN: "That is the exact reason why I must. I am very sorry everyone, but I need to protect you all. Weapons are just too dangerous for us to handle. Poppy, please construct a lock to the warehouse as soon as possible."  
POPPY: "Hmph. Fine."  
ELLIOT: "Wasn't there one more group?"  
VALERIE: "Yeah, me and Blake and Penny found some old cabins at the edge of the island."  
BLAKE: "They were sick, yo! We investigated one and it had this huge main room, a lounge, washroom, and kitchen! I was thinking of throwing a party—"  
ROWAN: "A party? At this time, Blake?"  
BLAKE: "... I meant a memorial party! The place is the perfect, trust me. Plus, this party's for Jo and Tommy! Rowan, you gotta respect the souls of the departed."  
ROWAN: "Hmm. I suppose… As long as things don't get too crazy Please keep in mind you're hosting a memorial party, not one of your wild parties."  
BLAKE: "Don't worry, Tree Girl! Val and I will have the bestest memorial party ever! Right?"  
VALERIE: "Huh? What was that? I've just been slapping Nolan this whole time. Fifteen fucking Monocoins, baby! Wait 'till you see the shit I'll get!"  
NOLAN: "I can't feel my face… Valerie, you don't even know what the machine will give you…"  
VALERIE: "I just want an excuse to slap you all day."  
NOLAN: "I… thought we were besties… I feel so betrayed— Ow! What did I ever do to deserve this?!"  
MONOKUMA: "Hey, kiddos!"  
PENNY: "Ahhhh! It's the cursed bear again!"  
MONOKUMA: "I see you've all been getting along just great! It's horrible!"  
CARMEN: "What the fuck do you want this time?"  
MONOKUMA: "Nothing. I just wanted to see how to guys were doing! I'm so caring. Oh, and also to present you guys your next motive!"  
ROWAN: "There's… another one?"  
MONOKUMA: "Why, of course! All this happiness is making me sick! So, I've decided to torture you with another motive. Wanna hear it?"  
JASPER: "No.”  
MONOKUMA: "Too bad! Jasper, you love sleeping, right?”  
JASPER: “Yeah. It’s like death without the dying part.”  
MONOKUMA: “Well, you’re not gonna have any time to do that anymore!”  
JASPER: "What’s that supposed to mean? I need my beauty naps.”  
MARION: “Beauty naps?”  
NOLAN: “Huh? What’s the point of you having beauty naps if they don’t seem to be working?”  
JASPER: “Shut up, you utter bagel.”  
MONOKUMA: "While you were all out exploring, I took the chance to plant bombs in all of your cabins!"  
POPPY: “Bombs?!”  
ANABEL: “Hmm…”  
SAFFRON: “B-but why?”  
MONOKUMA: “It’s simple! The bombs are designed to go off if any of you try to sleep in your beds.”  
CARMEN: “So what’s the point? We can go sleep somewhere else, like… that cabin on top of the mountain. It’s a pretty good place.”  
MONOKUMA: “Silly girl, haven’t you read the rules?”  
CARMEN: “Huh?”  
MONOKUMA: “It’s against the rules to sleep anywhere outside of your cabin! So if you try to sleep anywhere else, you’ll be promptly executed by me!”  
ANABEL: “You can’t just deprive us of sleep like that.”  
MONOKUMA: “Oh, but I can! Don’t worry your little head off, Ms. Maybury— there’s a designated sleeping time every night!”  
VALERIE: “So we get a fuckin’ bedtime?!”  
BLAKE: “Yo, this is bullshit. We get all this free time in a camp, but we still have a bedtime? What, are we toddlers?”  
MONOKUMA: “Enough talking! Your nightly designated sleeping time will be from 10 to midnight. You’ll be woken up by a blaring alarm at midnight. If you snooze, you lose!”  
JASPER: “Two… two hours of sleep…”  
TATE: “Yeah, this won’t affect me at all. That’s my average.”  
PENNY: “Same! In fact, I tend to sleep for less than two hours every night! It’s the price I must pay to train and become the greatest witch ever!”  
ELLIOT: “Me too. Unfortunately.”  
JASPER: “Two hours of sleep… you might as well just kill me.”  
MONOKUMA: “But do not fear! This designated sleeping time will be taken away if a murder occurs! So if you guys want a healthy amount of sleep, you better get killing!”  
ROWAN: “That’s terrible. There won’t be any more murders.”  
MONOKUMA: “What…? I can’t believe you, Rowan! In fact, I say there’s an even higher chance of a murder occurring this time around!”  
ROWAN: “What do you mean…?”  
MONOKUMA: “It’s simple. You all saw how dear Jolie did it, right…? And she would’ve gotten away with it if it weren’t for Pops over here!”  
POPPY: “But if I hadn’t told the truth, we would all be dead…”  
MONOKUMA: “You all saw how Jolie did it. Why not try to improve on her ideas…? Look at what she did wrong and find a way to make it better!”  
OLIVE: “Nah, nobody wants to do that trial shit again. Nobody’s going to be killed.”  
MONOKUMA: “If you say so. But you’ll have to look at your options here. You can stay sleep deprived forever, or you can kill someone and either get out or get your classmates their healthy sleeping schedules back!”  
JASPER: “This is ridiculous…”  
MONOKUMA: “And if a week passes without any deaths, maybe I’ll cut the sleeping time by an hour!”  
JASPER: “Don’t you dare, you absolute soggy lampshade. Take away any more of my precious nighttime hours and I’ll sneak into your lair and replace your shoelaces with spaghetti.”  
MONOKUMA: “Upupupu! Well, I’m off! Have fun, kids! When I come back to check on you, there better be a new corpse around here!”

And with that, the robotic bear was gone.

ROWAN: "Okay everyone. I think we should all come clean about our weapons. We all received one, no?"  
MARION: "Don't even try."  
ROWAN: "Excuse me?"  
MARION: "First you try to lock up all the weapons in the warehouse, and then you try to get rid of these extra ones just because you're paranoid? Grow up."  
POPPY: "Don't talk to Rowan like that!"  
ROWAN: "Thank you, Poppy. Marion, I had no intention of doing so. I just wanted to ensure—"  
MARION: "Shut up! I'll talk however I want to! I've got a weapon and I'm gonna keep it, and I suggest you all do the same if you don't want to get murdered. It's time you all realized this isn't happy-go-lucky land. We're in a fucking murder camp! Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go back to my cabin. I've had enough of this."

Marion rose up from his seat, ignoring the gasps and left the Dining Hall.

ROWAN: "Well— er—"  
BLAKE: "Rowan speechless? That's a first."  
ANABEL: "Please, everyone, use your weapons wisely."  
JASPER: "I can't believe I don't get to sleep now."  
CARMEN: "Didn't you mention before you'd kill for a good, long nap?"  
JASPER: "I was being sarcastic. If you haven't noticed, it's my first language."  
PENNY: "It's okay, everyone! We can all meditate late at night now, to stay awake!"  
ROWAN: "Thank you, Penny. You are correct. I strongly suggest finding something to occupy yourselves with. We obviously won't be sleeping for a while."

The students broke off into small groups once more, chatting quietly amongst themselves. Who would be the first to give into the new motive, and who would diminish? These poisonous thoughts crowded their brains as they set off on their own, full of fear and panic.

***

"Pink or green?"  
Valerie held up two rolls of streamers they had found in the camp store earlier, along with some other party decorations. They had also received a few things from Valerie's Monomono Machine Haul. She and Blake had decided to host a memorial party for Jolie and Thomas to lift everybody's spirits, despite the fact that they were trapped in a dangerous murder camp. Nolan had wanted to help them plan as well, but all he had done was throw out useless suggestions such as 'Let's invite Monokuma, he's a blast!'.  
"You don't know me well at all, Val," Blake chuckled as he bounced on his bed. "I can't believe you don't even know my favourite colour." Nolan sighed and wagged a finger at Valerie.  
"After all we've been through, I am very ashamed. I am beyond disappointed. We're all on the brink of extinction, and you don't even know what Blake's favourite colour is?!" He shook his head and got up from the bed, pointing to his best friend. "Just take a look at his outfit. He's got some weird grey-gold scheme goin' on, his shorts are red and black striped. His shoes are blue and ugly hair is this ridiculously bright teal—"  
"Robin's egg blue, excuse you," Blake interrupted. "If you're gonna insult my gorgeous hair, at least get the colour right."  
"... So obviously, his favourite colour is bright pink!" Nolan grinned at the two and rummaged through the remaining bag decorations and supplies, throwing all the forks and knives behind him and nearly stabbing Valerie in the face.  
"Ah, here we go!" Nolan held up what appeared to be a small flask. "I'm gonna get befuddled!"  
"... Befuddled?"  
"Shush, it's my word for drunk. Just like shaboinking is my word for—"  
"Okay, you know what?" Valerie placed the streamers back in the plastic bag and stood up. "I can't believe I'm the most sensible out of the three of you right now. We're underage, Rowan would kill us, and if a murder happens and the whole class is fucking wasted we're all gonna die!" She huffed and picked up all the utensils from the floor and dropped them back into the bag as well.  
"But Val, just think about this. Drunk Anabel. Drunk Marion. Drunk Saffron! Just imagine the possibilities. Like, what's the worst that could happen? Death? Nobody's gonna kill someone when they're drunk! Look, there are three types of drunk people in this world. The Rainbows, the Flirts, and the Stormies. The Rainbows turn super happy and silly, the Flirts end up shaboinking in a closet somewhere by the end of the night, and the Stormies are the ones who plunge into a deep depression and get runny mascara." Blake said. "Isn't that just the best thought ever?  
Valerie chewed her lip and sighed. "Oh, fuck it. Ask Monokuma, and if time allows we'll all get… befuddled, and see if we're gonna end up in a rainbow storm of flirts."  
"This party's gonna be great! We can blast super loud music to keep everyone awake!” Nolan grinned and turned to the other boy. “Blake, do you have a playlist?" The DJ nodded excitedly. "Yeah, equipped with only the best beats! Every single top 40 song from 2010 to 2015! The good stuff!" He paused. “Not sure if I’ll be able to access it here, though.” Valerie wrinkled her nose in disgust.  
"2010? The only good song back then was the goddamn Victorious theme song. At least play something decent." She brushed out her skirt and moved towards the door.  
"So,” Valerie said, taking the doorknob. “Are we gonna ask if we can get drunk or not?"

The skies were much cloudier than they had been when the class had first arrived. The air was cooler, and a slight breeze swept into Valerie's hair. She couldn't help but wonder if that meant they were getting closer to the end of September, when she’d finally turn fourteen. It was like they had travelled back in time when they woke up with no knowledge of where they were or how dire their situation really was. It made her miss when they were all naive and convinced that nobody would die.

The trio soon began their walk to the dining hall in search for party drinks. "So! How are we supposed to call him?" piped up Nolan.  
"Well, Carmen said she just shouted his name and he appeared," replied Blake. He smirked and turned to the group. "Alright, who has the best screaming voice?"  
Valerie raised an eyebrow. "Screaming voice?" she echoed. The three entered the dining hall and went immediately to the kitchen.  
"Well, what else am I supposed to call it? Powerful lungs? Who here has the most powerful lungs?" Blake laughed as he held open the door to the extra storage room for spare food. "Search around, folks. There oughta be some good stuff somewhere. I'm not sure if this is the best way to phrase it, but don't leave a single rock unturned. Y'know, that would've been a really great metaphor if Jasper's stupid rock hadn't been the fucking murder weapon—"  
"Yeah, yeah," Valerie muttered as she pushed some wooden crates of apples out of her way. "Doesn't look like there's any here. Nolan, now is a great time for your supposedly powerful lungs," she said.  
"Will do, leprechaun girl. But first, let's get outta this room. It's way too cramped for three people and a two-foot mechanical bear to squeeze in."

"Hey guys, what are you looking for? Sandwiches?" Valerie jumped at the new voice and turned to find that Jasper had entered the dining hall. The boy hadn’t made much noise as he came in, so it was a bit startling. Wasn’t he close to Rowan? Valerie gulped. They could be ratted out. They shouldn’t say anything suspicious.  
"Alcohol," Blake deadpanned as they walked right past him without a second glance.  
Jasper nodded at them. “Cool. You guys have fun with that.” Valerie let out a sigh of relief and followed Blake and Nolan outside.

Once the three students got outside, Nolan smiled and rubbed his hands together. "Okay, what do I have to yell?" he asked. "'Cause I feel like 'stupid-ass teddy robot' is a bit much."  
"I dunno, just try 'Monokuma' like a regular person," Valerie shivered and pulled her coat closer. "It's gettin' kinda cold, and I don't wanna spend all night freezing so you can figure out what to call a fucking bear."  
"Okay, okay. Kids these days. So impatient."

"MONOKUMA! COME OUT, YOU WEIRD, OL' TEDDY BEAR!" 

Nolan had shouted at the top of his lungs.  
"God, you didn't have to be that extra 'bout it," Blake laughed.  
"Yes?" The sudden voice startled the trio, making them turn around quickly to discover Monokuma standing on top of a nearby log. "What seems to be the problemo?"  
Valerie sighed and took a slow step towards him. "We just need you to answer us a question. You got any alcohol here, and can we use it at the party?"  
"Upupupu, that's two questions! But since I'm so generous, I'll answer both. In the kitchen, there should be two rooms. One is leading to the extra food where you just were, and the other is connected to another extra room with all the alcohol! But it needs a key, because I'm a responsible camp counselor."  
Valerie scowled and crossed her arms. "So, can we have the key already?"  
"Sure!" Monokuma cheered and held up an small, old brass key. "Please, get everybody drunk at your party. That probably means more death, which is more fun for me, and isn't that what this camp is really all about?"  
"Whatever," Valerie scoffed, and she snatched the key out of his hand.

"How are we going to convince Rowan to come to the party?" Nolan pondered as the trio were heading back from the dining hall, arms full with bottles.  
"We won't." Blake winked at him. "When we slip her invite under her door, we'll just say there'll be, like, I dunno… Kool-Aid."  
"... Kool-Aid?" Valerie laughed. "That's what you were addicted to as a kid? Not like, Coke?"  
"I was addicted to everything, man. My Kool-Aid phase lasted the longest— three years. Nothing but glorious blue pee from the ages of nine to eleven!"  
Nolan shook his head. "Man, there is something wrong with you. Obviously, the red Kool-Aid is the best! Not the blue! That shit's nasty as fuck." Blake stared at him with wide eyes.  
"My dude, we aren't friends anymore. Blue Kool-Aid is undeniably the best! It's like, cotton candy and blue raspberry mixed into one!"  
"But dude, red's cherry! Cherry! Nothing beats the classic, tangy taste of sweet cherry! Val, back me up here." Valerie glanced desperately between the both of them.  
"Tough call, but I'd have to choose… orange."  
"What the fuck?!" Blake and Nolan shouted at the same time.  
"That settles it. Our friendship is officially over. Orange is the worst flavour out of all of them!" Blake said while opening the door to his cabin. "Just dump them over in the corner, I guess. And don't let Rowan in, she'll have a fucking heart attack."  
"So, let's get the invitations started," Valerie sighed and plopped onto Blake's comforter. "How about 'We're holding a sick-ass memorial party for Jolie and Thomas at the party cabin'?"  
Nolan rolled his eyes. "Where's your spirit, Val? We gotta be all ominous, like 'Come. We have alcohol.' All black, and just small white text in the smack dab centre. And like, useless detail shit like place and time at the back. And the theme? Wait for it— black and white. If Monokuma makes an appearance, he doesn't even have to dress up!"  
"That's going to make people think we're killing whoever's coming," Blake answered with a half-smile. "I actually like that 'sick-ass memorial' thing. We really gotta change Rowan's invite, though. Just make it sound like a solemn funeral event thingy on her's. For the others, we can just stick with like, 'Come to our sick-ass party. We have alcohol, but don't tell Rowan.' And details at the side or somethin'."  
"Fine," Nolan pouted. "I still like my idea better."  
Valerie pressed her lips together thoughtfully. "Aren't we being mean to Rowan by lying to her?"  
"Well, technically we're not lying. We're just withholding the truth. Hm, I wonder if the camp store has Kool-Aid…" Nolan fidgeted in his chair.  
"Tree Girl will understand! We're just some lowly teens who wanna have some fun at a party. Who cares what we bring? The best part will be seeing how our classmates react when they're drunk! Five bucks Marion's a Rainbow!" Blake grinned and high-fived the Equestrian. "This'll be great."

***

Thomas’s death was really making Saffron reconsider training.

From the few days he had known him, Saffron knew that Thomas was a strong and confident guy who worked hard to get where he was now. He could do over a hundred situps in a minute, while Saffron could only do four. He could probably run for miles on end without stopping, while Saffron could only run for about a few minutes before he started wheezing. And yet, who was alive?

It scared him. He thought that he’d die first, and he thought that Thomas would live for long! But with this new turn of events, he realized that anyone could die. And if big, strong Thomas died first, who knew how much time Saffron had left? Compared to everyone else in the camp, he was weak and frail! He had little to no confidence, and it was like there was a huge target painted on his back. Heck, he couldn’t even muster the strength to say the frick word. If he couldn’t do that, how did he think he would be able to fight Monokuma? That morning, when Jasper had reassured him that everything would be alright, Saffron felt alright for the next few hours. Strangely, his brief ride with Marion on the seesaw had calmed him a bit and helped him forget for awhile. But now, all the feelings about death and being weak were coming back.

He considered resigning. Even if he tried his best, he wouldn’t be able to help anyway. Thomas was right. That first night of training, he had arrived just in time to hear Thomas ranting on and on about how he was a lost cause, how he wouldn’t be able to get stronger if he tried. He was right all along.

“Hey, what’s with the long face?” Startled, Saffron turned to see that Olive had arrived with the water bottles. The two had agreed to train a bit earlier tonight so they could get some rest later during the given sleeping time. She set down the bottles (one for her, about four or five for him) and sat next to him on the log. “I mean, I get it, man. Thomas and Jolie just died. That’s why we gotta train super hard so that nobody else does.”  
“O-Olive... do you think I’m weak?”  
Olive blinked. “What?”  
“Do you think I’m weak?”  
She hesitated. “Physically, yes.”  
“Exactly…” Saffron sighed. “I think I should just quit training.”  
Olive’s eyes widened. “What? No! Why?”  
Saffron stood and slung his backpack around his shoulder. “I d-don’t know… I just feel like I’m not really helping. I-I’m more of a burden than anything. I’m just… I’m just not strong enough for this.”  
Olive frowned and pulled him back down to the log. “No, that’s nonsense! You’re not weak!”  
“Wh-what? You just said so.”  
“Sure, you’ve got weak limbs and you can’t do more than five pushups in a row, but you’re pretty damn strong!” Olive smiled at him. “Look, man. When Tommy and I started askin’ people who wanted to train, did you see all those cowards? They were makin’ up excuses left and right, sayin’ that they didn’t want to or that it wasn’t their thing! But you! You knew that you were physically weak, but you joined us anyway!”  
Saffron sighed and looked away. “Th-they were probably making up excuses because they thought our idea was stupid…”  
“God, you should stop being so negative about this!” cried Olive. “Repeat after me. I will stop being so fucking negative all the time.”  
Saffron thought back to the conversation he and Jasper had earlier that day. He just had to think more positively. “I will stop being so… fricking negative all the time,” he declared.  
“Good enough. ” She got up and stretched. “Now, I’ve just realized something. Due to the shitty new motive, we shouldn’t be exertin’ much energy. Let’s just… not train for now. Alright?”  
Saffron nodded. “Okay.” Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of something shiny on a nearby log. “Hey, what’s that?”  
“Hm?” Olive approached the log and grinned. “Oh, this?” She picked up the item and, with a smirk, swiftly pointed it at Saffron’s neck. He yelped and fell backwards, staring up at the blade that he’d just been threatened with. Olive laughed and slid the sword back into its sheath. “It’s nothin’, really! Just a couple of cool weapons I found in the warehouse. We’re gonna use these for training!”  
Saffron huffed and stood back up. “D-don’t do that!”  
“Sorry, man.”  
He slowly approached the log and picked up the closest weapon to him. A bat with several nails hammered into it. He raised an eyebrow and put it back down. “Are you sure this is safe? Why can’t we use the weapons that Monokuma gave us?”  
“I mean, I’ll be using the weapon Monokuma gave me. Check it out!” She reached down to the log and picked up a set of bow and arrows. “It’s my weapon of choice! How cool is this?”  
Saffron nodded slowly. “Cool, cool…”  
She put the weapon back down. “So, what’d you get from Monokuma? A huge carnivorous plant in its own ‘lil pot? A blade? Y’know, like a blade of grass? Haha.”  
“A garden hoe.”  
“What?”  
“A garden hoe, Olive.”  
With that, Olive began laughing. “A garden hoe?” she managed to say between laughs. “That’s… that’s not even a weapon!”  
“I know, I know…” Saffron began inspecting the pile of weapons Olive had brought. “Is Rowan okay with this? She seemed a bit… on edge about the weapons.”  
“Yeah, yeah, she’s cool. She trusts us.”  
“That’s good…” A thought crossed Saffron’s mind. What if Olive killed him right now? She certainly could. She had the weapons, she had no witnesses. It was the middle of the night. He gulped. “S-so, what are we going to do now?”  
Olive shrugged. “I ‘unno. We can talk, if there’s anything botherin’ you.”  
“There’s… there’s nothing bothering me anymore,” he lied.  
“Good. Oh, by the way…” Olive reached into her pocket and took out a black card. “Did you get one of these?”

Saffron squinted at the card. “Y-yes… I got one too.”  
“It’s weird, huh?” Olive shoved it back into her pocket. “I’m guessin’ it’s from Blake.” She sighed. “But honestly, I think it’s a bit disrespectful. I mean, it just feels like a shitty excuse to throw a party. Plus, where the hell did that loser get alcohol from? We’re fucking underage! I’m thirteen! I’m gonna be fourteen in fucking November! Why does Blake think he can drink just because we’re trapped in a shitty murder camp?” She shook her head. “He’s a fuckin’ idiot, that’s what he is.”  
Saffron nodded. “Are you going?”  
“Hm, yeah. Probably. It seems like a good way to keep me awake.”  
“Oh… good point. Then… then I suppose I’ll go too.” Saffron yawned, and Olive glared at him.  
“Hey, don’t die on me now.”  
“O-of course not! I can stay awake!”  
“You’d better.”  
“Olive…” Saffron tugged on the straps of his backpack. “I-I’m going back to my cabin. I d-don’t think there’s a point to us just standing out here doing nothing. Plus, the designated sleeping time’s coning up.”  
“Yeah, yeah, of course! See ya, man!” called Olive. Saffron smiled and waved goodbye as he dashed back to his cabin. Once he was gone, Olive sighed and sat on the log. She didn’t want to admit it, but she was starting to have doubts about Saffron training too. In fact, she was starting to have doubts about the training sessions in general. Was she being stupid? She needed to come up with a proper plan— she couldn’t rush into Monokuma’s lair without one, that was just suicide. Hell, she didn’t even know where Monokuma’s lair was! The lounge was still fishy, but she didn’t want to set any more traps after what ended up happening to Tate and Poppy.

A sudden rustle in the bushes made her heart skip a beat. “Who’s there?” she called out, grabbing the bat near her. Silence. Warily, she approached the source of the sound.

“Come out!”

Another rustle. A shiver ran down her spine. Who’d be out here at this time of night? She knew that everyone was awake, but why would someone be… watching her? She squinted into the darkness, trying to see if anyone was out there.

Then, she tensed up as she saw somebody unrecognizable in the darkness staring back at her.


	10. Chapter 2: Periled at the Party (Daily Life II)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is probably the least serious chapter in the whole thing. the gang cha chas real smooth in this one
> 
> TW: Gore.

“You really think this machine’s gonna be useful for the party?” asked Nolan as the elevator doors closed. “Car-Car told me that it was supposed to give out murder weapons. How ‘bout we just turn back and raid the warehouse instead?”  
As the elevator shot upwards to the top floor, the three teens lost their footing and stumbled. Once she had stabilized herself, Valerie turned and shook her head. “You’re just tryin’ to get outta gettin’ hit again, hm?” she snickered. She reached into her coat pockets and took out a pouch of Monocoins. “Look at this! I’ve got a shit load of bling— some serious moola right over here. And it’s all thanks to you!”  
Nolan made a face at her as she shoved the pouch back in her pocket. “Why don’t you hit Blake over here for a change?” he spat, gesturing to the DJ. “Oh wait— you’d never.” He gave a cheeky grin at her. “You would never even think of hitting your sweet, handsome Prince Charming, your Romeo, your— ow, fuck!”  
Valerie smirked as another Monocoin appeared out of thin air. “You better watch your mouth, Canter,” she sneered, adding the new coin to her bag. “That makes 27! Fuck, man. Soon enough I’m gonna be swimmin’ in Monocoins. Like a rich duck.”

Soon enough, the elevator came to a stop. The doors slid open, revealing the quaint room that overlooked the entire island. Blake snorted upon seeing the three washroom doors.  
“What’s in the third one?” he asked, gesturing to it. “A single stall for Tate?” He approached the door, about to take the doorknob before Nolan spoke.  
“It’s a gender neutral bathroom, you idiot,” he said. “It’s like any old public washroom except anyone can go in.”  
Valerie rolled her eyes. “Guys, we’re not here to poke around in Tate’s special bathroom.” With a grin on her face, she took out the pouch of coins and approached the Monomono Machine. “We’re here for this baby!”  
Nolan cleared his throat and stepped forward. “Since I’ve suffered so much to get you these coins, I believe I deserve to insert the first one,” he said.  
Valerie hesitated, but eventually handed the pouch over. “Fine,” she huffed, flopping down on the nearby couch. “I hope you get something shitty.”  
Nolan took a coin out of the pouch and excitedly inserted the golden coin inside. The machine lit up and a jingle played out, then suddenly an image of a laser gun popped up on the screen.

7) LASER GUN  
Would probably make a cool murder weapon if it wasn’t just a toy.

A small box containing Nolan’s prize fell down the chute, hitting the bottom of the machine with a thud. Nolan bent over and collected his prize. Quickly unwrapping it, he took out a brightly colored gun with several blinking lights on it. “Coolio!” he exclaimed, pointing it around and clicking on the trigger. A faint red light shot out of the end, but it didn’t seem to do anything. Of course, it was only a toy.  
Valerie scoffed. “That’s it?” she asked, stifling laughter. “That’s fuckin’ lame! You could buy that at the dollar store, for cryin’ out loud!” She got up off the couch and snatched the bag from Nolan’s hands. “Gimme that!”  
She immediately inserted the coin in the machine, watching as a new image lit up on the screen.

47) RIMI RING  
A silver ring with the Royal Institute for Masterful Individuals’ logo embedded in it.  
Show your school spirit!

Valerie raised an eyebrow as a small box tumbled out of the machine. “Stupid ass machine!” she growled, giving it a hard kick. “I can’t have school spirit for a school I’ve never attended!” She let out a defeated sigh and handed the pouch over to Blake. “Oi, Marcato. It’s your turn.”  
“Don’t mind if I do!” He bounded up to the machine and picked out two coins from the bag. “Yo, what if I put in two?” he asked.  
The Lucky Student only shrugged. “Beats me. Maybe you’ll get a better prize?”  
“Only one way to find out, dudette!” He inserted both coins, smiling as the machine began to light up once more. 

61) VOICE RECORDER  
Now, you can hear just how badly your voice sounds.

Blake frowned as he took the small device from the machine. “Aw, man. It’s nothing special.” He sighed and put it down on the table with the rest of the things. “Yo, do we need to bring everything to the party?”  
“Yeah, sure,” Valerie replied, zapping the laser gun around the room. “Why not?”  
“Alright then,” he said. “After all, we might end up getting something cool!” He opened up the pouch once again. “Now, let’s drop all of these in, rapid fire. Let’s see what kinda cool shit we can get!”

For the next fifteen minutes or so, the trio took turns inserting their coins into the machine. As the items tumbled out one by one, it became clear that some of the items in the machine were put there for some specific people in the class. Nolan had no interest in the marionette puppets, the botany kits nor the tarot card decks, but he found the horse head and the ‘1001 Puns To Make Your Friends Hate You’ book quite enthralling. Blake got himself a neat pair of headphones and a disgustingly bright neon green beanie, and Valerie found a whole black forest cake and a small makeup set. Finally, it had come down to the final coin.  
“Alright,” said Nolan, folding the corner of the page he was on, “it’s my turn now. I endured all these slaps, so I deserve to put the final coin in!”  
“Ugh, fine.” Valerie tossed the coin to him, and he bounded towards the machine and excitedly dropped it in the slot. The machine lit up once more, and a rather heavy object fell down the chute.

60) KARAOKE MACHINE  
Sing your heart out to these catchy hits!

Nolan opened up the large flap and attempted to pick up the heavy box. He struggled with it, but was able to lift it for long enough to put it on the table. Flashing an excited grin at the group, Nolan immediately pulled the ribbons and took the cover off the box.  
It was the most glorious thing any of them had ever seen. It was a sleek, colorful karaoke machine with a big, beautiful screen and a pair of matching mics. It came with a thick book filled to the brim with songs, as well as a remote for inputting the songs. Blake stepped forward and took the machine out of the box.  
“It’s gorgeous,” he breathed.  
“It’s so… perfect.”  
“We’re gonna have the time of our lives tonight!”

Valerie stuffed the now empty pouch in her pocket and picked up a part of the item pile. “Alright, let’s get going. We’ve gotta carry about nine objects each to the party cabin.”  
“Who’s gonna haul the karaoke machine?” asked Blake.  
“We can just come back for it,” replied Valerie, pressing the elevator button. Once all three of them picked up their objects, they headed in and shut the door. With all of these neat items, Blake knew that this party was gonna be the best party ever.

***

Rowan browsed through the inventory of the camp store. It had been awhile since she had been here, but she decided that she might as well make a note of what items were available in the store. Just in case of another murder, Rowan wanted to familiarize herself with all the things that a culprit could possibly use to commit a crime. She hated doing this, but she knew that she had to take all necessary precautions to keep everyone safe.  
She took a turn into the medicine aisle, where each and every bottle and container were neatly arranged into perfect arrays. Save for the empty spot where the eye drops that Jolie had used once stood, at least. Rowan approached the box of eye drops, took one off the wall and inspected its contents. The contents were listed in unbelievably tiny print, but the Pathologist was able to make out the word tetrahydrozoline. Of course— that made sense. She was familiar with a few of the more serious symptoms caused by ingestion of this medicine. Seizures and comas came to mind. She scribbled this down in her notepad and placed the bottle back on the wall. She thanked the heavens that Saffron nor Olive were that heavily afflicted by the poisoning.

As Rowan continued down the aisle and into the magazine area, she heard the bells above the door chime. She poked her head past the display to see that Jasper had arrived. She smiled at him. He was probably the one person in the camp that she trusted more than the rest. Lately, he’d been a big help in making sure that there wouldn’t be another murder. She shoved her notebook in her pocket and went to greet her friend.  
“Jasper!” she greeted, beaming. The boy seemed slightly startled by her sudden greeting, but his expression soon calmed.  
“Hey, Rowan,” he said. “How’s it going?”  
“Not so good, I’d have to say,” she sighed, taking out her notebook. “I’ve been going through the store’s inventory and taking note of all the dangerous things that one could use here. It just saddens me that I have to do this, I suppose.”  
Jasper nodded. “I see, I see.”  
“So, erm, did anything happen last night?” asked Rowan.  
Jasper shook his head. “No. Just the usual, nothing much out of the ordinary.” He took a peek at the notebook. “Hard candies?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.  
“It’s a choking hazard,” Rowan said immediately. “A culprit could possibly force a few into a victim’s mouth, causing them to suffocate.”  
“Geez,” Jasper muttered, picking up a pack of gum from the candy display. “Y’know, Rowan, anything can be a murder weapon given that the culprit has some creativity.” Rowan made a face at him, and he chuckled. “What? It’s true. Look, you could probably document that mini fridge over there. It’s potentially dangerous, you see.”  
Rowan rolled her eyes. “A mini fridge is not a murder weapon."  
“To you, it might not be. But to a culprit with a bit of imagination…”  
“Fine, look.” Rowan took out her pen and wrote down the words mini fridge in the recent page. She snapped it shut, and looked to Jasper. “Are you happy?”  
He nodded in response. “Yep,” he said, beginning to walk. “You’ve gotta be specific about these kinds of things, Rowan. You’ll never know when someone commits a mini fridge homicide.”

The two continued walking through the aisles of the store, Rowan occasionally picking up an item from the shelves and adding it to her notebook. As they went around, Jasper continued to mock her list of “dangerous items”, pointing out that a beanbag chair didn’t exactly count as a potential murder weapon. About fifteen minutes or so later, Rowan had every dangerous item in the camp store written down in her tiny notepad.  
“That’s everything,” she said, tucking the pen behind her ear and returning the notebook to her pocket. “We’ve gone through all the aisles, right?”  
“Of course,” Jasper replied. “The candy displays, the souvenir aisles, the bookshelves… everywhere.”  
“Good, good.”

They exited the camp store, and Rowan began walking towards the bridge.  
“Hey, where to now?” asked Jasper, following suit.  
Rowan shook her head. “I want to document the items in the warehouse too. I think the group who explored it mentioned that it was filled with such dangerous weapons.”  
“By dangerous weapons, you mean wallpaper rolls and watches, right?”  
“Jasper, c’mon.”

Soon enough, the two found the bridge. The walk across was mostly in silence, staring out at the blue ocean and the bright blue skies. When they were almost to the end, Rowan spoke, breaking the silence.  
“So Jasper, have you made any new friends lately?” she asked, turning to look up at him.  
“Not really,” he replied slowly. “Not a lot of potential friends here, considering that there’s only fourteen of us here. And that number might dwindle soon, too.”  
Rowan nudged him. “Please, I don’t want to think about that.”  
“Alright.” Jasper paused, then spoke again. “I mean, I’ve been getting closer to some people.”  
“That’s good to hear, then,” Rowan said, nodding. “As you said, if we bond as a group, the chances of a murder occurring will lessen.”  
“I did say that, didn’t I?  
“Mhm.”

Soon enough, the two reached the end of the bridge and began heading down the wooden steps. The island was fairly quiet this afternoon— most people were spending their time on the first island, so there weren’t many people around.  
“So, who have you been getting close to?” asked Rowan as they entered the forest.  
Jasper took a deep breath. “Here, let me ask you another question,” he said. He sighed. “Have… have you ever liked someone before?” he asked slowly.  
Rowan turned to him with a confused expression. “I don’t know,” she said. “I mean, I do suppose there was this one girl living next door whom I took a liking for. Her name was Aubrey.”  
“Oh? Did you ever tell her?”  
Rowan shook her head. “No. I was too afraid. We were alright friends, so I suppose I was just afraid to ruin the relationship. Also, she’s moved away. I haven’t seen her in so long.”  
“Ah. I’m sorry.” Jasper fiddled with his scarf. “So, theoretical question. If someone here were to like someone, right here in this camp, would you advise them to tell said person that they like them?”  
Rowan thought for a moment, then nodded. “I suppose so. I’ve learned from Aubrey that if you like someone, you should just go ahead and tell them already. After all, you might not see them tomorrow.” Jasper turned to her with a horrified expression, and Rowan gasped. “Oh no, I apologize! I didn’t mean that the said person would die— I was only comparing them to my experience with Aubrey.”  
Jasper sighed. “It’s alright,” he said. “I get what you mean.”  
“In my opinion,” Rowan continued. “This theoretical person should try to, how do you say it, make a move. Most people in this camp are quite kind— nobody will make fun of them if they confess their love. This person should just go ahead— get it over with, you know? If…” She sighed. “If something bad happens to the person or their crush, they’ll never get to confess. So… yes. This person should definitely tell the other person their feelings.”  
Jasper nodded. “I see… thank you, Rowan.”  
“One more thing, however.” Jasper turned to her, an eyebrow raised. “I know I just told you to go ahead and tell them already, but…” She sighed. “You— this theoretical person, I mean, should make sure not to rush things. Don’t dive into a relationship for the sake of being in a relationship. Take it slow. I’d suggest that this person should confess to their crush in perhaps a few days, but refrain from taking the relationship much further. Considering our situation here, we don’t know what’ll happen to us.”  
Jasper sighed. “Yes, you’re right,” he said. “Thanks for the advice.”  
Rowan smiled as they emerged from the forest. “I’m glad to help. I’m not experienced in romance or confessing one’s love to someone, so apologies if my advice was redundant or unhelpful.”  
“No, you’re fine. You’re fine.” He turned back. “Oh, actually, I have to… I have to go to the bathroom,” he said quickly. He smiled at her. “I’ll catch up with you later, okay?”  
“Of course,” Rowan said. “I’ll be back on the first island once I’m done documenting all the dangerous things in this warehouse.” She sighed and shook her head. “This is going to take awhile.”  
“Good luck,” called Jasper as he began walking back. “There are just so many pencil cases and headphones in there— such dangerous items, y’know? You’d better get going.”

Rowan rolled her eyes as her friend waved goodbye and went to find the bridge. She turned and pushed open the heavy doors of the warehouse, silently hoping that Jasper would follow her advice.

***

Later that day, Anabel arrived at the dining hall to make preparations for the first meeting with ASFIM. She knew that her classmates often only used the dining hall during meals, so the place was completely empty. Anabel walked past the usual dining table and pulled aside a slightly smaller, circular table for the meeting. Then, she pulled over five chairs for each of the members and began to arrange them perfectly around the table. As she did this, she went over the important topics that the group would cover in her head. The identity of the liar, the identity of the mole, the reason to be trapped in the camp, the identity of the mastermind… there was just so much material to cover. But a satisfied smile crossed her face as she thought about how by the end of this meeting, the group would all have a better collective understanding of the camp’s mysteries.

Soon after the preparations were completed, Rowan arrived right on time. Following her was Tate, who seemed equally as excited for the meeting as Anabel. She guided the two to the circular table, sitting them down and awaiting the arrival of the last two members. About ten minutes after three, Poppy and Elliot arrived together, apologized for their tardiness and took their seats. Anabel rose from her chair, cleared her throat and began speaking.

ANABEL: “Ahem. Welcome to the first official meeting for our group. Thank you all for coming. As we all know, some of the less… bright members of our class have been paying more attention to a foolish, unnecessary celebration instead of focusing on what truly matters— escaping this horrid campsite.”  
ROWAN: “Agreed. While the party may be a fun way to keep us all… yawn… awake, we should be focusing on more pressing matters. The party doesn’t seem that great to me, honestly.”  
ELLIOT. “Yeah, but I’ll still go anyway. If someone gets hurt, at least I’ll have an alibi, right?”  
ROWAN: “Yes. No offense to Blake, but the party seems… rather bad. His way of trying to get us to come was promising Kool-Aid, for heaven’s sakes.”  
POPPY: “Kool-Aid? I never heard anything about Kool-Aid.”  
ROWAN: “What? It’s on the invitation, clear as day.”  
ANABEL: “We are getting off topic. As the president of this club, please allow me to facilitate these discussions. Now, let’s begin by discussing the two bad apples in our group— the liar and the mole.”  
ROWAN: “Oh, it just pains me to think that there are two bad people hiding within our class…”  
ELLIOT: “I mean, unlike the mole, the liar isn’t inherently bad.”  
TATE: “I guess so. But we still have to be on the lookout for anyone who seems suspicious. The liar could be anyone, really…”  
ROWAN: “Hmm… I wonder why someone would lie about their talent. Is there even a point?”  
POPPY: “Maybe their talent might come off as scary?”  
ELLIOT: “Man, what kind of talents do you guys have in mind, anyway?”  
ANABEL: “Well, the liar could potentially be very dangerous. They could be anything, really. An Assassin, a Gunslinger, a Mafioso, an Impersonator…”  
TATE: “I don’t think the Institute would recruit such dangerous teenagers, would they…?”  
ANABEL: “That’s true. But still, if their talent wasn’t anything to be ashamed of, there wouldn’t be a point in lying. It would have to be an intimidating talent of some sort.”  
POPPY: “I don’t know… maybe the liar’s just embarrassed about their talent? Like, um, their talent could be something super silly!”  
ANABEL: “If that is so, they should stop being so cowardly.”  
ROWAN: “Instead of going over what the liar could be, maybe we should consider who the liar could be.”  
TATE: “I agree.”  
ELLIOT: “Yeah, how should we do this?”  
POPPY: “We could go through a list of our classmates and discuss the likelihood of them being the liar, maybe?”  
ANABEL: “Yes, that is the most methodical approach to this situation. Let’s begin with those who aren’t here, then we will move on to interrogate each one of you. You should all be ready to defend yourself.”  
TATE: “Okay, let’s do this.”  
ROWAN: “Let’s begin with Olive. What are your thoughts on her being the liar?”  
ELLIOT: “I don’t see it.”  
ANABEL: “Me neither. That girl couldn’t be anything but an Archer.”  
TATE: “I’ve seen her practicing with the bow she got from Monokuma, and her talent checks out.”  
POPPY: “Oh, Olive got a bow?”  
ELLIOT: “Yeah, what’d you think she’d get? A pair of sais?”  
ANABEL: “Honestly, I’m willing to bet that she’s the only one here satisfied with her given weapon. I got a tiny mallet, for crying out loud. It’s insulting!”  
TATE: “I dunno, Anabel. I got a sword, and it’s pretty cool.”  
ROWAN: “Anyway, we can rule Olive out.”  
TATE: “Yep, Olive’s too friendly to be the liar. She’s like the big sister I’ve never had.”  
ELLIOT: “We shouldn’t rule anyone out permanently, though.”  
TATE: “But then again, if Olive was the liar, why would she pick the Archer title as a cover? I mean, this is a summer camp. She’d have to prove herself at some point.”  
ELLIOT: “True, true.”  
ANABEL: “Let’s move on. I say we can skip Valerie. A Lucky Student is present in every class.”  
ROWAN: “Of course.”  
POPPY: “Hmm, how about Carmen?”  
TATE: “I don’t think it’s possible to prove anything about her talent in a place like this.”  
ELLIOT: “Yeah.”  
ANABEL: “I remember some claims that she was an Olympian. Do any of you remember hearing about her?”  
TATE: “I don’t watch sports, don’t look at me.”  
POPPY: “Nope, sorry!”  
ELLIOT: “I haven’t heard of her before, no.”  
POPPY: “Oh, actually… I think that there was a skier in the Winter Olympics a few years ago under the last name Laughrin. But it was a guy, so I don’t think that helps.”  
TATE: “Yeah, no.”  
ANABEL: “Okay, so Carmen is still a possibility for the liar. I’ll make a note of her here, then we can thoroughly discuss our final suspects later. Who would you all like to discuss next?”  
TATE: “Hmm, maybe someone suspicious. Like, uh, Marion? He’s been rubbing me the wrong way.”  
ELLIOT: “Oh, I hate that guy.”  
POPPY: “C’mon, maybe he won’t be so bad once you get to know him!”  
ELLIOT: “Then go get to know him and tell me what you think, Poppy.”  
POPPY: “Um… yeah, I’d rather not.”  
ELLIOT: “Mhm.”  
ANABEL: "There's no way to prove he is telling the truth, either. Perhaps if a theatre of some sorts opens up, he may have a chance.”  
ROWAN: “Even if a theatre opens up, he might not be able to prove himself then. He doesn’t have any puppets with him, does he? He can’t possibly perform a production on the spot.”  
TATE: "Maybe he can write a play. Don't puppeteers also do that?"  
ELLIOT: “Yeah, but that’s more of a playwright’s specialty than a puppeteer.”  
TATE: “Ah, well… have any of you watched or heard of his productions?”  
ANABEL: “No. Puppet shows are terrifying.”  
ROWAN: “Oh! I do remember one, actually— it was a fantasy story of sorts.”  
ANABEL: “Are you sure it was by him?”  
ROWAN: “It was by a young puppeteer with the last name Spruce, so I believe so.”  
ELLIOT: “So… Marion’s proven innocent?”  
ROWAN: “I suppose so.”  
ANABEL: “What a surprising turn of events.”  
TATE: “Oh, wow. I'd like to see some of his works, actually. Are they good?”  
ROWAN: “The one I saw was actually pretty good. I was surprised to see that it was by someone as young as him.”  
ANABEL: “Let’s move on. How about… Jasper?”  
TATE: “No way. We already saw how talented he was at the bracelet-making session."  
POPPY: "I think Jolie mentioned something about wearing some of his family’s jewelry on the runway, so I think that yeah! He’s telling the truth!”  
ANABEL: “Ah, I forgot about that. That was easy, then. Next is… Blake?”  
POPPY: “He’s been proven innocent too, don’t you remember? Valerie’s a hardcore fangirl.”  
ELLIOT: “Oh, don’t remind me. She’s obsessed with him— it’s so creepy to me.”  
ANABEL: “So he is off the list of suspects as well. Very well, let’s move onto Saffron.”  
POPPY: “Well, I haven’t heard of him before. And I follow science news, so…”  
ANABEL: “Have any of you heard of him?”  
TATE: “Uh, no. Sorry.”  
ELLIOT: “Nope.”  
ROWAN: “Unfortunately not.”  
ANABEL: “Interesting. And he hasn’t demonstrated any knowledge of plants yet, has he?”  
POPPY: “I mean, um… his name and appearance are nature themed.”  
ANABEL: “No, no, that’s not a valid reason at all. The idiotic flower crown is not a valid reason. Besides, he could’ve lied about his name to fool us too. He might’ve chosen a plant-themed name to further his lie.”  
ELLIOT: “C’mon. Who’d lie about their name?”  
POPPY: “Yeah, that’s dumb. Actually, when you think about it, a lot of us have names that mysteriously fit our talents. Like, like… Jasper! That’s also the name of a gemstone. And Marion’s name is like, short for marionette. Oh, and Jolie means pretty in French…”  
TATE: “Damn, did our parents name us in hopes that we’d pursue a talent fitting our name?”  
POPPY: “Ooh, what if we’re just all characters in a story, and the authors just really, really wanted us to have punny names?”  
ANABEL: “That’s enough.”  
ELLIOT: “So Saffron’s still a possibility for the liar?”  
TATE: “Yeah. But if he is the liar, I doubt that it’s a talent related to murder or athletics.”  
ANABEL: “I’ll put his name down. Hm, how about we discuss Penelope next?”  
TATE: “Oh, yes.”  
ELLIOT: "I mean, she does spend three hours every night meditating."  
ANABEL: "It could be as a distraction, though."  
TATE: "Her predictions have been a little bit… off…"  
ROWAN: "But if she was the liar, why a Seer? She could easily be exposed based on how correct her predictions are."  
ELLIOT: “Have her predictions really been accurate, though?”  
TATE: “I don’t know. You tell me— you’re always going out with her in the middle of the night, right?”  
ELLIOT: “Yeah, but all we do is practice weird chants and meditate for hours.”  
ANABEL: “During the trial, she was unable to be of any assistance. It is pathetic, really.”  
ROWAN: “That’s a bit mean. Penny correctly guessed Nolan’s name when we first arrived here.”  
POPPY: “She did? I didn’t know that. That’s pretty cool, actually.”  
TATE: “Anabel, let’s move on from Penny. I’m just, uh, not sure what to think about her.”  
ELLIOT: “Yeah. I get this feeling that she knows more than she lets on, though.”  
ANABEL: “Alright, then who’s left? Nolan?”  
POPPY: “Oh, he’s innocent too. Carmen mentioned seeing his horse shows on television.”  
TATE: “Those ones where he wears the cowboy outfits, right?”  
ELLIOT: “Mhm.”  
ROWAN: "So, that brings it to… us."  
TATE: “Oh darn… I’m a bit nervous now.”  
ANABEL: “You have nothing to be nervous about if you’re innocent.”  
ROWAN: “Would anyone like to volunteer to be interrogated first?”  
POPPY: “Alright, I’ll go. Let’s get this over with.”  
ANABEL: “So, Poppy. Elaborate on how you got your talent.”  
POPPY: “Okay, um… I was really into machinery and robotics as a child. I used to take things apart and put them back together for fun. My… my mom was fine with it. She encouraged me a lot. I read a lot of books on the subject as a child, and soon I began entering robotics competitions. I won almost every one I entered, and throughout the years I kept building new things. Then the Institute noticed me, and now I’m here!”  
ELLIOT: “No offence Pops, but it’s pretty vague.”  
ANABEL: “Agreed. You claim that you won a lot of robotics competitions. What did you do with the money?”  
POPPY: “Huh? Well… I donated a lot of it to charity.”  
ROWAN: “Oh, that’s very sweet of you.”  
POPPY: “Yep! But with the remaining money, I bought a ton of retro video games, merch, consoles…”  
ANABEL: “In my opinion, it’s impossible to prove whether or not she’s lying.”  
TATE: “Hey Poppy, did you ever build that lock Rowan was asking you for?”  
POPPY: “Huh? Oh yeah! I did! The warehouse is just full of useful materials and tools. I made two— one for locking away the weapons, and the other for locking away the kitchen during Blake’s party! Don’t want anyone tainting the food, now.”  
ROWAN: “That’s just splendid! Could you give it to me after this?”  
POPPY: “Um, sure. I just feel like it’d be better if we had our given weapons on us, though. I mean, anything can be a weapon. This is really negative and I’m sorry, but what if someone comes up with a creative way to kill here?”  
ELLIOT: “I agree. We need to defend ourselves somehow if someone gets any ideas.”  
ROWAN: “Th-that’s… that’s fine, I guess. But I will be locking up the majority of weapons unless somebody gives me a good reason to take them back out.”  
TATE: “How are you going to gather them all up?”  
ROWAN: “I already have— they’re all in a chest in the warehouse. I just need the lock to seal them off.”  
TATE: “Oh, I see.”  
ELLIOT: “Wait, you said that you’re locking them up unless someone gives you a ‘good reason’? What kind of good reasons could someone have? It’ll almost always seems suspicious.”  
ROWAN: “Well, for example, Olive asked me recently for a load of weapons for her nightly training sessions with Saffron.”  
ANABEL: “They’re still doing that? Even after Thomas died?”  
ROWAN: “Mhm.”  
POPPY: “What do you think they’ll do with the weapons?”  
ROWAN: “I mean, Olive told me that she wanted to practice fighting wih them because they 'weren’t gonna destroy an organization with their bare fists' and that 'they weren’t idiots'. I don’t know.”  
ELLIOT: “Aren’t you worried about that? It sounds strange to me, but what if one of them kills the other? They train at nighttime, when there’s a lower chance of a witness appearing.”  
ROWAN: “Don’t worry, I have it all figured out.”  
ELLIOT: “Wait, what’s that supposed to mean?”  
ANABEL: “We are wasting time! Let’s continue the interrogations. I put down Poppy’s name just in case. Apologies, Poppy. We cannot leave a single person out if they are suspicious in any way.”  
POPPY: “It’s fine. As you said, I’m not the liar, so I have nothing to worry about.”  
ANABEL: “Precisely. Let’s go clockwise— it is the most organized way to do this. Elliot, it’s your turn.”  
ELLIOT: “Oh, okay. Go ahead and interrogate me, then.”  
ANABEL: “Elliot has no way of proving his proficiency at angling, due to the lack of biotic organisms in this camp. It is impossible for anyone to fish here, and anyone who attempts this out of curiosity is an idiot.”  
POPPY: “Isn’t that a bit harsh?”  
ANABEL: “I’m a bit harsh.”  
ROWAN: “So the only thing we have to go off is Elliot’s word.”  
TATE: “If the liar was going to pick a talent to use as a cover, why would they choose angling? At least pick something slightly more interesting.”  
ELLIOT: “Anyway, my family grew up in Asheville in a little house by several lakes and rivers. My mom and dad were always out of the country due to their work, so Evelyn, Eric and I lived with our grandparents. We went out for weekly boating trips to fish. Eric wasn’t really into it— he was always moping around in his room. Evelyn, though, she loved fishing. I did too. When we were little, though, we weren’t the best at it. So together, we read about fishing techniques and learned everything about the subject and eventually, we got better. We basically mastered it. On one of the weekly boating trips, we caught the biggest fish in the lake. And when we travelled outside of town to fish, we’d get even bigger ones out there.”  
POPPY: “Oh wow!”  
ELLIOT: “My grandparents were ecstatic when they saw that I had caught a 10 foot long fish— the biggest one I’ve ever gotten. They began enrolling me in the nearby town’s competitions, and though I was pretty bad at contests at first I soon began to place in the top third. I kept going until I won every competition I came across. And here I am now, the Super Stellar Angler.”  
ANABEL: “I feel like something about your story is off, but I can’t put my finger on it. Otherwise, it seems like a legitimate story.”  
TATE: “Quick. Tell me the name of a lure that you might use to catch, uh, a bass.”  
ELLIOT: “We usually used jigs for them. They were good for catching all year round, so they were reliable and easy to use. Second to jigs are crankbaits.”  
POPPY: “Haha! I have no idea what those words mean!”  
ANABEL: “I mean, if he was able to respond so quickly and accurately, I suppose he’s telling the truth. Next would be… me. Ah, feel free to grill me with as many questions as you’d like.”  
TATE: “Alright, here we go.”  
ELLIOT: “Anabel is a likely candidate for the liar.”  
ANABEL: “What?!”  
ELLIOT: “Don’t act surprised. Everyone remembers what Valerie said when we first got here.”  
POPPY: “Huh? What did she say?”  
ELLIOT: “She said that the youngest person to pass the bar exam was eighteen years old.”  
ANABEL: “What, are we relying on the Lucky Student for information? That’s nonsense.”  
ROWAN: “Anabel, you shouldn’t undermine Valerie’s intelligence just because she wasn’t scouted as a talent like the rest of us.”  
ANABEL: “Well, you’d have to admit that Valerie is not the brightest.”  
ELLIOT: “Still. If only we had access to the Internet. Then, we could verify all these claims.”  
ANABEL: “I find it terribly offensive that you think that I’m the liar. Why would I lie? What motive would I have to lie? And, if I were the liar, why would I pretend to be a lawyer?”  
TATE: “I mean, we don’t know the answers to those questions yet, but… here, I’ll put you down on the suspects list.”  
ANABEL: “Hmph. Fine.”  
ROWAN: “That brings us to Tate. They’re not lying— they’re the author of one of my favorite novels!”  
ANABEL: “Lions and Lords was not that good. Tate’s better ones were nonfiction. Their fiction novels… slump.”  
ROWAN: “Well, we all have different tastes.”  
TATE: “Wait, you think my nonfiction ones were better? Man, uh, that’s weird. I like my fiction ones a lot more.”  
ANABEL: “You fools have no taste.”  
TATE: “I was the one who wrote these books…?”  
ANABEL: “Now, it is Rowan’s turn. After her, we can discuss our suspects, then move onto the next order of business.”  
ROWAN: “Actually, I need to prepare dinner. Apologies.”  
ANABEL: “No, it’s alright. If so, we will wait until our next session to discuss other mysteries.”  
TATE: “Wait, there’s… there’s a next session?”  
ANABEL: “Of course. Did you think this was a one time thing?”  
ELLIOT: “Yeah. This is pretty boring, actually. Why do we need to do this more than once?”  
ANABEL: “... Well, let’s move on, shall we? It’s Rowan’s turn. Rowan, please describe how you earned your title.”  
ROWAN: “It isn’t a very interesting story, I suppose. I am the eldest of eight children, and my parents were.. how do I put this, rather unfit to be parents. I had to take charge very often. We weren’t the most wealthy family. I had… I had a very sickly younger brother. His name was Ginkgo—”  
ELLIOT: “Ginkgo?”  
ROWAN: “Yes, his name was Ginkgo. He was terribly ill, and we couldn’t afford his treatment. So I did a lot of research to cure him. I soon found myself immersed into the interesting study of pathology and medicine in general, so I began reading about it in my free time. Soon, I began to aid my school’s nurse and took advanced medicine courses. From my research, I was able to learn more about Ginkgo’s illness and keep him healthier for longer. When I was 12, I wrote a paper relating to my studies and presented it to a nearby medicine school. They recognized me as capable and wrote recommendation letters to the Institute so I could further my knowledge there.”  
ANABEL: “Again, we can only take Rowan’s word. We can’t be sure if she’s lying, so I’ll write her name down as well.”  
POPPY: “So who’s on our list? All of us but Elliot and Tate, then Carmen and Saffron?”  
ANABEL: “Yes, that’s right.”  
ELLIOT: “That’s a relatively small list. We can just interrogate Carmen and Saffron, then maybe we can cross one or both of them off our list.”  
POPPY: “Hey, I have an idea.”  
ANABEL: “Hm?”  
POPPY: “What if the liar’s already dead? Would Monokuma tell us if the liar dies…?”  
ROWAN: “I wouldn’t think so. Monokuma wants us to be afraid. If he reveals the liar after they die, we’ll have one less thing to stress about.”  
POPPY: “That’s true… so it’s possible that Jolie or Thomas could be the liar?”  
ROWAN: “Well, it’s not Jolie. She’s an international fashion icon— we’ve all seen her at least once before.”  
TATE: “So, uh, what about Thomas? We obviously can’t interrogate him now. And nobody was really close to him.”  
ROWAN: “There’s Saffron and Olive. Perhaps they talked to him during their training sessions?"  
TATE: “I could ask Olive about him, then.”  
ANABEL: “Very well.”  
ELLIOT: “So are we done this whole liar discussion?”  
ANABEL: “Yes, I believe so. We’ve gotten through everyone in our class. Now, I believe this brings an end to our first session. I’m very glad that we’ve narrowed down a small list of suspects. Thank you for coming, everyone.”

With that, the small group of five was dismissed. Dinner was soon approaching, so Rowan and Tate headed into the kitchen nearby to get things ready. After dinner would be a short period before the designated sleeping time began, when a select group of students would help Blake and Valerie set up their big party. Then it was time for bed, and once they were woken at midnight, the big memorial party would begin.

***

Nolan's face was bright red and numb.

Valerie and Blake had been slapping him all day to get Monocoins and supplies for the party, but he knew they just did it for sheer fun. What had happened? He thought they were friends! And as everybody learned in kindergarten, friends don't hit their friends. That's what enemies were for. Oh well. The party was looking great anyway. Everybody was excited.  
The group of seven had started unpacking things in the old cabin after dinner. Ever since the new motive had been set in place, there wasn't really much to do.  
Blake and Valerie had been ecstatic to host this party. They seemed so sure it would be the best thing ever for the class. Rowan had been hesitant to let them follow through, but everything they did seemed harmless so far. As long as the drinks were stashed far away from here, it would be a wild night.

They had even assigned roles for everyone. Poppy was in charge of the lounge and karaoke machine, seeing as she was the only one who knew how to operate it anyway. Blake was working away on his song and poem he was going to present tonight, in honour of Jolie and Thomas. Saffron was helping Valerie decorate the place and make it look more lively. Rowan was busy preparing refreshments in the kitchen and spare room. Olive helped heave all the heavier items around since she was physically fitter than the rest of them.  
That left Nolan, who wasn't assigned a role. At first he was sure they had just forgotten, but as the hours passed by his classmates just made him do all the dirty work, such as scrubbing the deck and washing the windows. He was their maid.  
"Hey, Nolan! Can you come for a sec?" Blake's unmistakable voice sounded through the cabin. Nolan hurriedly rushed towards him. Perhaps he would give him a real job! Or at least, one that didn't include cleaning. He was Nolan Canter, for God's sake! He was to be treated with equal dignity and respect!  
"Yeah, what's up?" he tried to say nonchalantly.  
"Yo, can you taste test a few things?" Blake said without even looking up from his task.  
"Sure. Why can't you do it?" He bit into a lemon cupcake and tartness exploded on his tongue. He made a sour expression.  
"I've tried pretty much every food around the globe, so all food tastes the same to me,” said Blake. “I figured you hadn't done a lot of travelling." What was he trying to do, rub it in his face or put him down? Either way, his feelings were a little hurt. What happened to being friends? It seemed like Blake and Valerie were becoming best friends, and Nolan was just the third wheel. The punching bag. He was only there to make jokes and lighten the mood.  
"Well, for your information, this cupcake sucks," Nolan responded dryly and threw the remains into the trash behind him. "It's way too sour."  
Blake nodded his head towards the red velvet cupcakes. "I'll tell Rowan later. How 'bout these?" The Equestrian slowly picked off the bright yellow wrapper and took a bite.  
"Eh. Not much flavour. Too much frosting on top." He sighed and placed the cupcake down on the table. "Hey man, can we talk for a sec?"  
"Sure, but can it wait? I'm in the zone right now, and that's when I produce my best work! Is it important?" Blake didn't stop writing.  
"No, it's… it's nothing. Sorry to bother you, dude. I'll just eat all the free samples." He tried to grin and licked the frosting off his fingers. "Anything else you need me to taste test?"  
"Uh, just the rest of these cupcakes, I guess."  
Nolan nodded slowly and picked up his third cupcake. Would the rest of his life be spent like this? Third wheeling with his only friends and doing what they couldn't be bothered to do? A tiny part in him wanted to go talk to someone— anyone— about his problem. He usually just went with the flow. Laughed it off. But right now, Nolan just felt resentment. He shook the feeling off and bit into a vanilla cupcake. It didn't matter, anyway. Things would probably go back to normal after the party.

***

The karaoke machine was broken.  
No matter how many times Poppy tried to rearrange the cords or fumble with the buttons, no music blasted out of the speaker. The heavy machine had come straight from the Monomono Machine, which was another thing Poppy just couldn't figure out. How did Monokuma manage to fit so many items into something so small? Another one of the camp’s greatest mysteries.  
She groaned in frustration as she went over the combinations she had tried in her head. Beads of sweat dripped down her forehead as she flopped down tiredly on the couch. No, she couldn't sleep now. Thanks to the new motive, nobody could take a break. They just attempted to busy themselves with party setup, which had proved to be not-so-helpful so far.  
"Hey, Poppy? Rowan said we're having a break in a half hour." Nolan poked his head into the lounge and glanced at the karaoke machine. "Damn, Super Stellar Engineer! You can't even fix up a karaoke machine?" He shook his head mockingly. "I am beyond disappointed."  
Poppy grabbed the nearest pillow and threw it at his head. "Ugh, that machine is impossible to fix. I've tried everything!"  
Nolan dodged the pillow and smirked. "Come on, even I can fix that that old thing!"  
She raised an eyebrow. "Oh, yeah? Let's see you try."  
"Watch me." He marched confidently over to the stage and started plugging random wires into places, turned the volume to 50 and then flicked the "on" switch. Suddenly, the national anthem started playing, making everybody in the cabin wince.  
"Wha— How— What?!" Poppy said, surprised. "I've been trying at that thing for an hour, and now it works?!" Nolan grinned and sat down on the couch next to her. "Anything is possible when Nolan is around."  
Poppy studied the Equestrian carefully. His usual bright smile was faded, and his voice seemed cheerful yet fake. She bit her lip and frowned.  
"Hey, what's wrong?" He looked up, startled.  
"Nothing's wrong. Why, Princess Leia?"  
"You just look… sadder than usual." She placed a pillow behind her back and sat up. "Something bothering you?"  
Nolan glanced towards the open door, and then back at Poppy. "Well, actually… something is kinda bothering me. But it's nothing big. You don't need to worry 'bout it."  
"No, it's okay. Tell me." Why in the world would Nolan be sad? He was the class clown. He never went anywhere without his bright expression and funny laugh.  
"Well, uh, it's Blake. And Valerie. And everybody. I just feel like, I dunno, I don't really belong in this class. I mean, I don't have a place, y'know? Everybody's got their talent. Some are smart, some are special. Me? I ride horses." He sighed and stood up, brushing crumbs off his pants, and Poppy briefly wondered where they had come from. She couldn't help but feel sorry for Nolan. Perhaps she could give him a little pep talk to make him feel better.  
"What'd Blake and Valerie do?" she asked.  
"I dunno, I just feel like the third wheel. They're so… in sync, y'know? They're like true besties. I'm just the extra in the background. The one who does all the dirty work."  
"Well, what's your job?"  
"I… I didn't get one. Blake must've overlooked me or somethin'. It's okay, really," he mumbled.  
"Oh! Er, you can come help me with the lounge for now," She said. "Here, let's set up the mics. Do you know how to?"  
"Nope, but I can try," He smiled at her, and maybe it was just Poppy, but it didn't seem fake anymore.

***

"Wait, what?"  
"Yeah, you heard me." Olive nodded quickly and brought her voice down to a whisper. "We've got ourselves a stalker."  
"No way. I… I didn't see anything!" Saffron could hardly believe what he was hearing. Olive had pulled him aside during their break to have a word with him, but this wasn't what he had expected at all.  
"Well, o' course you didn't see anything. You left a full half hour before our bedtime!" She scoffed, and then grinned. "Hey, did you ever sneak out as a kid to parties? Stay up 'till sunrise?"  
Saffron gasped loudly. "That— that's a thing people do? The only parties I went to w-were family reunions!"  
Olive widened her eyes. "Really? Damn, you had a lonely childhood. I went out all the time! Man, you never know the true feeling of exhilaration until you have to sneak back into bed at five in the mornin'."  
"O-oh, that sounds difficult… I'm not the best sneaker." He signed and picked at his fingers. "Olive, are— are you sure there's someone watching us? I-I just don't see a reason to." She shrugged and started her way back to the others in the main hall.  
"Well, I dunno.. All I'm sure 'bout is that someone here is watchin' us at night, and I'm gonna find out who." She patted Saffron's shoulder encouragingly. "Just leave it to me. Whoever they are, they're gonna be real sorry when I catch 'em red-handed. Man, they oughta be sorry! Bein' all creepy like that at night, spying on two kids trainin'. When I get them, they gotta lot of explainin' to do."  
"A-alright… tell me when you've caught them, I suppose," he whispered and shuffled back to the tables Rowan had set up earlier. Saffron hoped the stalker wasn't planning to cause any harm to him or Olive. He'd hate to have another person killed, especially not himself or his friend. He trusted everyone here. Who could be spying on them?

"Hello, Elliot. Anabel. Please join us," Rowan smiled and gestured towards the array of food sitting on the table. "We were just finishing up, but you're welcome to stay for a while if you'd like." Blake laughed and licked some frosting off his fingers from the cupcakes. Anabel sniffed and pulled out the nearest chair, fanning her skirt out. She noticed that most of the dirty paper plates was at Blake's place— eleven, in fact.  
"Good luck grabbin' some food, broskis! It's all in my belly by now!" He patted his stomach and wiped his mouth with a napkin. Poppy rolled her eyes and brought her plate to the garbage bag. "We've been really productive so far! Everyone's got their own responsibility."  
"Cool. Hey, Poppy, what's yours?" Elliot asked and grabbed the last cupcake seconds before Blake lunged for it.  
"The lounge, but Nolan's helping me," she replied, dusting off her jumpsuit. "There's gonna be a karaoke machine."  
"Oh?" Anabel raised an eyebrow. "I never understood the point of karaoke why need a machine with fancy microphones when you can just sing alone, or simply don't sing at all?"  
"Because it's fun-ner!" Poppy exclaimed as she sat back down beside Elliot. "I mean, what's not to like?" The Attorney shrugged.  
"It just isn't my scene, I suppose. I'd much rather be reading or studying— they are very educational and proper pastimes."  
Nolan laughed. "Not everyone's as pish posh as you! We like to have actual fun!" He seemed in a remarkably better mood than before, Poppy noticed. Maybe she really had cheered him up after all.  
"They are fun," Anabel scoffed. "Better than screaming your lungs out, anyway."  
"What's fun about sitting around and learning?"  
"Everything. It's exhilarating."  
He rolled his eyes and tossed his plate in the garbage. "Whatever, goth girl. I gotta go finish setting up the lounge. Karaoke's gonna be so lit, right Pops?"  
"Yeah!" She exclaimed. "There must be over, like, a thousand songs on there. And you can do duets!"  
Blake and Valerie exchanged mischievous glances. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking, Val?"  
"Bad Romance?"  
"Bad Romance."  
"Should I be scared?" Jasper asked, stealing one of Saffron's cookies and bit into it.  
Valerie grinned. "Prepare to be scared outta your fuckin' wits."

***

About one hour before curfew, Saffron and Olive headed out to the campfire as always. To Saffron’s relief, their training had been less vigorous due to the new motive. Instead of the horrible pushups and sit ups that Olive usually made him go through, the two had decided to practice yoga instead. Turns out, Olive was passionate about the activity and insisted that it would help them greatly when they go to storm the mastermind’s hideout.

The day before, Olive had dug around in the warehouse and found a couple of music players filled with almost every song she could think of. She had given Blake one of the devices to use for his party and kept one for herself. So, to make training more enjoyable, she had compiled a playlist filled with some energizing songs to help them focus. Though Saffron found the playlist a bit loud for his tastes, he appreciated the effort that Olive had put into it.

As Olive guided him as he moved into the tree pose, she heard a faint rustle in the bushes. She raised an eyebrow as she glanced towards the shrubs, but then shrugged and decided to pass it off as the wind. But a few moments later, the rustling came again, and it sounded much closer. Olive gazed warily at the bushes, wondering if they’d be ambushed that night. She let go of Saffron’s leg (ignoring him as he let out a yelp and fell to the ground), picked up her bow and began slowly moving towards the bushes.  
Saffron got up, picked up his weapon and ran to catch up with her. “Olive, where are you goi—”  
“Shh.”  
“Is this about the stalker? Are they— are they here right now?”  
Olive turned to him and nodded solemnly. “You stay here and guard the weapons,” she hissed, watching the bushes. “If they come for you, just remember your training and fight back.”  
“W-we’ve never had any weapon training!” cried Saffron. “And… and I don’t want to fight back, I don’t want to hurt someone innocent.”  
“For fuck’s sake!” whisper-yelled Olive. “If we’re gonna fight this mastermind organization, I don’t wanna hear any more of that pacifistic bullshit from you. You decided to train with me— so you’ve gotta accept that you’re going to fight some people eventually. Besides, this stalker guy probably has bad intentions! The stalker probably isn’t an innocent person!” She sighed. “Just stay here, watch over the weapons and keep your guard up.”  
“Y-yes, Olive.”

Olive watched him head back to the logs and sit beside the pile of weapons. Then, she turned and continued moving towards the bushes. She heard more rustling and footsteps, so she increased her pace. Her eyes widened as she briefly saw the silhouette of a person moving through the forest.  
“HEY!” she cried, immediately giving chase. Upon noticing her, the person began running away as quickly as they could. Luckily for her, they weren’t very fast. She quickly began catching up to them, and when the person noticed this they quickly grabbed what appeared to be a Y-shaped object and a rock from their pocket. Turning behind them, they quickly slung the rock at Olive, who swerved right just in time to dodge it. A slingshot— it must either be the weapon they were assigned or some old one from the warehouse. Then, she picked up her pace, running faster and faster until she was able to leap at them and tackle them to the ground. Now that she had a better view of the person she was chasing, she was able to recognize the familiar brown hat and messy blond hair.

She frowned at him, pulled him up by the shirt and folded her arms. “You’d better have a good explanation for this,” she said.  
“For what?” asked Jasper, dusting off his pants. “I was just walking around in the woods at night, then suddenly you started chasing me, and now you’ve tackled me to the ground. I think I’m the one who deserves an explanation, Olive.”  
“Stop acting like you don’t know what I’m talking about.” She grabbed him by the collar and leaned in close. “Tell me. Was that you watching Saffron and I last night?”  
“Maybe.”  
Jasper’s calm expression was beginning to anger Olive. She shook him by the collar. “I want a straightforward answer. Was that you? If yes, why are you watching us, you creep?”  
He shrugged. “Fine— you’ve got me. I was told by Rowan to watch your training sessions and make sure that the two of you don’t get up to any murderous shenanigans, what with all the weapons you have.”  
“Is that the full truth?” she asked.  
“Yes, geez. What, did you think I came here just because? I’d rather be taking a nap right now." He paused. “I mean, I can’t. Because of the motive. But as soon as 10:00 hits, I’ll be out like a light.”  
“Alright, then why did you fire a rock at me?” She gestured to the slingshot in his hand. “You could’ve killed me. And we don’t want another rock murder on our hands, do we?”  
He only shrugged. “I didn’t know it was you,” he said plainly. “I was just making my way to the place where Rowan told me to sit. Then, you started running at me, so I panicked.”  
Olive glared at him, then let him go. “You’d better be tellin’ the truth,” she warned. “Now, listen up, punk. Are you telling me that Rowan asked you to watch us… because she didn’t trust us?”  
“I guess so.”  
She sighed. “Alright, well… as long as you don’t get up to any funny business, you’re free to spectate out in the open so you don’t have to hide in the bushes like some weird, shady creep.” She picked up her bow and gestured for him to follow. “Now, let’s go. I left Saffron alone at the campfire, and I’m sure he’d want to know who exactly our ‘stalker’ is.”  
“Wait, Olive.”  
She turned to him. “What is it now?”  
“I’m— I’m fine out here. It’s cool. Just, uh, leave me here. I’ll watch from here. Rowan told me to hide.”  
Olive’s eyes narrowed at him. “No,” she said. “I said, let’s go. I can’t see a reason for you to refuse to come.”  
“It’s just—”  
“It’s just what?”  
He bit the inside of his cheek. “I don’t want Saffron to know that it’s me.”  
“What? Why not?”  
“He might get the wrong impression, I guess.”  
She stared at him. “What do you mean?’ she asked. “I mean, I’m just a bit pissed that Rowan doesn’t trust us, but I’m cool with you watching. He’ll probably be the same.”  
“Olive, did you tell Saffron that you saw someone watching?”  
“Well, yeah. He seemed terrified.”  
“See, there.” He took off his hat and began fiddling with it. “He’s scared of me. I shouldn’t have hid in the bushes in the first place— I should’ve just came out and spectated like a normal person. But Rowan told me to hide so that if a murder happens, I’d be a secret witness. She doesn’t trust you guys at all, actually.” Olive glared at him, but he didn’t pay her expression any mind and kept speaking. “Anyway, if I come out now, Saffron’s going to get mad at me. He’ll think I’m creepy for choosing to hide in the bushes— which I probably am— and he’ll see me differently.” He paused. “Am I overthinking this?”  
“Alright, firstly, I literally cannot imagine Saffron being angry. It’s just not possible. Secondly, he’s not scared of you,” Olive countered. “He’s scared of the stalker. If you reveal that it was you, he won’t be afraid anymore. Now, come.” Jasper didn’t move, and Olive groaned. “C’mon, you’re being stupid and unreasonable. I really thought you were smarter than this.”  
“I’ll stay here,” he said firmly. “I don’t want to tell him. Don’t tell him either, please.”  
Olive frowned at him, then sighed. “Alright,” she finally said. “You’re being an idiot, by the way.” She began to walk back, leaving him in the forest. “Hell, you’re just scaring him even more. Some friend you are.”

Olive made her way back to the clearing and stepped out of the bushes. Saffron perked up upon seeing her. He abandoned the nunchucks he was playing with and immediately ran up to her.  
“Did you get ‘em?” he asked. “Did you catch the stalker?”  
“Kinda,” replied Olive, taking his hand. “Come with me. I want you to meet the stalker.”  
Saffron raised an eyebrow at her, then shook his hand free. “What?” he asked, a bemused expression on his face. “Why?”  
“He’s being a little bitch and I want you to sort him out.”

Before Saffron could question her further, Olive took his hand once more and pulled him towards the forest. The two trekked through the shrubs and trees for the next few minutes, before Olive came across the spot where she had tackled Jasper to the ground. To her surprise, there was nobody there. She glanced around the forest, listening and searching for any signs of Jasper. She sighed. Looks like he already left.  
Saffron caught up with her, heaving and slightly out of breath. “Where… where is he?” he gasped, glancing around. Olive only shook her head.  
“He’s gone,” she muttered. She took her E-Handbook out of her pocket and glanced at the time. “Look, it’s almost curfew. He must’ve gone to bed.”  
“But who?” asked Saffron. “Who are we talking about?”  
Olive turned back and began walking. “It’s Jasper,” she said, ignoring Saffron’s surprised expression. “Rowan told him to watch us every night in secret to make sure we don’t try any funny business with the load ‘a weapons we just received.”  
“O-oh… well, I guess that makes a bit of sense, then.” Saffron smiled up at her. “At least now we know that the stalker isn’t out to get us, right?”  
“Yeah, but…” Olive sighed. “Rowan sent him. And Rowan doesn’t trust us.”  
“I th-think it’s perfectly reasonable… she just wants to make sure that nothing goes wrong.”  
“I get that. I just feel kinda bad, y’know? We’re untrustworthy.”  
“Yes, we are.” Olive turned to him and raised an eyebrow. “Of course we are. We’re… we’re in a death game, Olive. And w-we’ve only met about a week ago. Nobody trusts anyone completely yet.”  
“You’re right, you’re right.”  
“I think we should just let Jasper watch us out in the open, really. I wouldn’t mind him being present at the training sessions. He’s really nice to me, after all.”  
“Yeah, I was telling him that too. But that defeats Rowan’s purpose of sending Jasper in the first place. Rowan never wanted him to be discovered. If he stayed hidden and, say, you kill me, I wouldn’t know that he was a secret witness.” She huffed. “I’m kinda bad at explaining things, but do you get me?”  
Saffron nodded. “Yes, I do. B-but…” He hesitated for a moment, then continued. “We’re friends, r-right Olive? I m-mean, none of us would ever think of killing each other. Or killing in the first place. S-so, um, I don’t really think there’s a point to Jasper watching in secret. I mean, we both know about him now.”  
“Yeah, yeah.” Olive frowned. “Rowan told him to hide, though. And even now, when I know who he is, he still wanted to hide.”  
“Why?”  
“He thought that you would think badly of him or somethin’ like that, I ‘unno. I don’t get his logic.”  
Saffron shook his head. “No— no, that’s ridiculous. I don’t think badly of him at all. I think it was right for Rowan to send him to watch us. It’s just an extra safety precaution, really.”  
“Yeah.”  
The two soon found the clearing once again and began packing up their things. “By the way, Saffron,” Olive said suddenly. “Jasper doesn’t know that you know about him. So maybe don’t bring it up until tomorrow’s training session? I think he’d be pretty pissed at me if he realizes that I told you.”  
“O-oh, of course.”  
Olive smiled at him and slung her quiver over her back. “Alright, then. See you at the party tonight.”

***

That night, Penny shivered and pulled her flowing cloak closer to herself as she headed to the party. This night was particularly chilly— it was as if Monokuma was purposely making the temperature drop every evening and rise to unbearable highs at noon. The sky was grey and the clouds looked they were about to burst into rainstorms. Nevertheless, she was determined to put the bad weather behind her and have the time of her life at this party. A fun gathering always seemed to lift the class's spirits anyway.  
As she travelled closer to the old cabin near the edge of the second island, Penny saw two of her closer friends, Elliot and Poppy standing outside the door laughing. She skipped up to them.  
"Hi, Penny," Elliot greeted her. "You're not late yet. We've just gotta finish setting up Blake's DJ stuff. Everybody's inside though, since it's so cold."  
Poppy nodded. "I'm so excited!" She said. "This is the first party I've been to, in like, forever."  
Penny's eyes grew wide. "Really? I used to go to parties all the time!"  
All of a sudden, Blake burst open the door with a huge smile on his face and a red party cup in hand. He gestured grandly towards the door.  
"Guys! Gals! Uh, Tates!" He winked at them. "And now, for the moment we've all been waiting for! Welcome to the one and only… Blake and Val's Awesome And Totally Cool Supercalifragilistic-expialidocious Party Bash Thingy!"

Valerie and Saffron really had done a spectacular job of decorating. Green and pink streamers adorned the walls and ceiling, and long tables overflowing with party snacks sat at the far end of the room. Blake had somehow managed to get an old disco ball and had attached it to the ceiling for a 90s feel. As the guests entered, the colourful circles of light from the disco ball danced around the walls of the room. Once everyone was inside and settled down, the lights dimmed and the students gathered around Blake excitedly.  
"Please, hold your applause 'till the very end of my speech," Blake started. "Wait a minute. Where's my two besties?!" Confused, they glanced around the room and realized two people hadn't bothered to attend— Carmen and Marion.  
"Aw, we can't hold a party without Car and Grumpy Gus!" Blake sighed. "Why didn't they show up?"  
Valerie rolled her eyes. "Who cares about 'em? Marion's just bein' his lonely self, and Carmen probably thinks this is all stupid. Let's just start without 'em."  
"Perhaps they'll show up later. We can't force them to come. It's best to just continue," Rowan added gently.  
"Aw, okay. Anyways, welcome to the sickest party you'll ever go to in your whole lives! Now, I'm not stupid," he chuckled. "I know that two of our dearest friends have just died. So, let us bow our heads in silence for ten seconds.” Two seconds later, Blake immediately put his head back up “And we’re done! So, to commemorate Jo and Tommy, I have written a song for them!" Blake beamed at Rowan, who nodded slightly in approval. He dug his hand into his pocket and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper with writing so messy it was nearly illegible.  
"It's an opera!" He grinned from ear to ear. "I've never tried opera before, but since I'm so incredibly gifted and talented and handsome, I figured I'd give it a try. Turns out I'm magnificent!"  
Blake cleared his throat and began to sing.

Good bye, good-ish people,  
You have climbed a very steep hill.  
Good bye, Jo and Tommy.  
I bet in heaven you have infinite salami!

Valerie and Nolan could barely contain their laughter, whereas the rest of the students just rolled their eyes. Penny, however, thought the song was pretty good! Blake was the Super Stellar DJ, after all. She was sure he knew what he was doing.

Good bye, our fellow classmates.  
You shall no longer celebrate your birth dates.  
Good bye, model girl and sporty guy… 

"AHHHH!" Blake suddenly screamed. "There's a fly!" He immediately pointed at Valerie, who started running around and swatting the air.

Haha, I bet you thought I was being serious!  
I was just kidding— I'm very mysterious.  
I really just wanted to find a rhyme,  
Like time and prime and crime and lime.

He winked at her as she huffed and attempted to smoothen her dress.

Which are not that delicious, by the way… Which are not that delicious, by the way… Which are not that delicious, by the way…

"Oh my god, he's even got a bridge," Nolan whispered to Valerie. "Remind me how he's the Super Stellar DJ again?"  
"Oh, shut up," she replied. "Like you can do any better."

Rhyming is hard, kids, but never give up!  
Especially when you have no backup.  
But one day, you might be just as good as me…  
Blake the DJ, amazing and carefree!

Blake finished with a deep bow. The applause was sparse, but Penny clapped the loudest. She didn't think the song was that terrible, and at least he had tried! Her other classmates hadn't even made an attempt at keeping everybody in a good mood, and, most importantly, awake.

"Thank you, thank you very much," Blake said in a low voice, imitating Elvis Presley. "But that's not all I have planned for tonight! Nope, I have wrote another song!" Rowan pressed her fingers to her temple. The class didn't seem to enjoy the idea of staying here for the night just to hear Blake's songs.  
"Actually," he said after a moment. "It's more of a rap. More specifically, a rap… about Jesus."

Jesus…  
He's the way of life.  
Jesus…  
Love your wife!  
Jesus…  
Do not murder.

He glared at each of them in turn for a while, and then continued.

Jesus…  
Love your co-worker!  
Jesus…  
We're all friends here.  
Jesus…  
Do not make our deaths near!

"Please make my death near," someone whispered behind Penny. She sniffed. They were all so disrespectful! Blake was trying his very best, and they all took his work for granted.

Jesus…  
Monokuma is dumb.  
Jesus…  
Now that's done, let's go have fun!

He finished with another flourished blow. "Okay people, there's food over there, karaoke in the lounge room, and a washroom and kitchen down the hall. Kitchen’s locked so none of you twats steal more food than you deserve. Now go free!" The crowd slowly broke off into small groups of two or three— some stayed to dance, others to get food, and still others to try out the new karaoke machine. Penny smiled happily to herself as she went with Poppy to get the drinks from the kitchen. This was going to be the most memorable party ever.

***

Poppy slowly brought out the large bowl of punch, carefully making sure it didn't spill on the wooden floorboards. She placed it on the table next to a pretty arrangement of pastries. Rowan had put a lot of effort into these snacks, she realized. She should probably talk to her sometime. The Pathologist truly cared for them and wanted them to be happy.  
She bit into a chocolate chip cookie and sighed. The party was going well, but nobody was really dancing. They mostly stuck by the food or in the lounge. Then, Poppy had an idea.  
"Hey, Blake?" She yelled as she walked closer to the pounding speakers.  
"Yeah?" He shouted back at her.  
"Do you take requests?"  
"Sure! Just write it down and pass it to me!" He paused, and then frowned mockingly. "Why? You don't like my songs? I feel so hurt and betrayed!"  
"Just play this song for me!" She grinned as he read the name.  
Blake shook his head and laughed. "Smart, smart. I can't believe I didn't think of this before! Thanks, Pops!" She smiled back at him and started heading back to the kitchen, but accidentally bumped into Rowan along the way.  
"Oh! Apologies, Poppy. I'm just so tired…" She pressed her fingers to her forehead. "And all this music is giving me a headache."  
"Oh, don't be silly!" Poppy chirped. "You've done a lot, Rowan. Don't be so hard on yourself."  
Rowan gave her a small smile. "I'll try. And before I forget to tell you, I thought your punch was very good. Better than my own," she added.  
"Aw, thanks! It was my mom's recipe," Poppy said proudly as she pulled out her kitchen keys and unlocked the door.  
"That's… yawn… very nice. I'm so sorry I'm tired. All this work, it's just getting to me."  
"Rowan, it's fine. Really. Now, why don't you find something to occupy yourself with? I'm gonna do karaoke with a bunch of other people later, you could join us!"  
"Oh, thank you for the invitation. I'll make sure to come, then."

Back in the main room, Saffron was standing to the side with a small plate of cupcakes. He had never been to a party this wild— did people his age go to these regularly? He could barely handle all the bright lights and the loud music was giving him a bit of a headache. He sighed as he bit into a cupcake. Maybe later, he could find some sort of excuse to get out of this politely.  
Suddenly, Saffron felt a light pat on his shoulder. Slightly startled, he turned to see Jasper beside him, hand outreached.  
"Dance with me?" he asked, and gestured towards the mostly empty dance floor. Saffron blushed and nodded slightly, putting down the plate on a nearby table and heading towards the dance floor with his friend.  
"I-I've never really done this before…" Saffron hesitated. Would he make a fool of himself and step on his foot? Get out of sync with the music?  
"You'll be fine," Jasper said calmly, as if he read his mind. "Here, I'll teach you. You put your hands on my waist… yeah, and then I put my hands here. Then we, uh, step side to side. I don’t know how to describe it better. Just go with the rhythm.”  
Saffron timidly followed Jasper’s instructions, trying his best to move in time to the music. At one point he nearly stepped on his shoe and stumbled, but Jasper simply laughed and brushed it off.  
After a while, Jasper stopped his dancing and spoke up. "So, I've been wanting to tell you this for awhile now," he started. “But I never really got the chance to."  
Saffron's heart skipped a beat. "O-oh…um, what is it?"  
"Well, ever since we became friends… I feel like we've been getting a lot closer these past few days. Ever since the day we explored the lakeside together, I just felt this… special connection, y'know?"  
He took a deep breath. "What… kind of special connection?" Was it possible that Jasper…

"I… I have a crush on you."

Saffron froze. He could feel his face rapidly turning a bright shade of red. He tried to say something in response, anything, but the words never got past his lips and he stood still in his place trying to comprehend what he had just told him. Jasper liked him! But did he even like him back? Was he even telling the truth?  
Eyeing his face, Jasper sighed. "It's okay if you don't like me back… in that way. I just wanted to let you know." He slowly stepped back to walk away, and Saffron felt a pang of regret.  
"Jasper, wait."  
The Jeweler stopped and raised an eyebrow.  
Saffron took a deep breath. "I… I like you too!" he blurted out. "A-and I was too scared to tell you before because I didn't know if you liked guys, b-but…”  
Jasper‘s eyes widened. "Really? That’s great…” He awkwardly scratched against the back of his head. “I never expected you to be into guys,” he admitted.  
"Yes, I'm… um, I’m bi."  
"Cool," he replied. How did he manage stay so calm during all of this? "So, uh..." Jasper bit his lip and faced him. "Do you want to… y’know, be together?” He gave a light laugh. “I’m sorry, I’m not that good at this romance thing, but…”  
Saffron smiled at him, hardly believing this was happening himself. “O-of course, yes,” he managed to stammer out. “That would be wonderful.”

"Okay, folks!" Blake's booming voice suddenly sounded through the cabin. "Are y'all having a good time?!" Feeble cheers could be heard through the room. "Well, get ready, because I still got a lot more fun planned for y'all! When I say Jo, you say Tommy! Jo!"  
Nobody chanted back. Then, Jasper turned back to Saffron, a genuine smile on his face and a light blush across his cheeks. He could only hope that he wasn’t making a mistake by falling in love in a place like this.

***

Meanwhile, on the other side of the cabin, Penny was walking around, an empty cup in her hand. This party was definitely looking great so far! The decorations were spot on, the food was delicious, and the music was amazing! She was really enjoying it. As she passed by the lounge area, she noticed something strange in the corner. She approached it with caution, her eyes narrowing when she saw several tall bottles stashed away in the corner.  
"Ooh, what's this?!" Penny exclaimed, picking one up. When she looked closer, she saw that some kind of liquid was inside it— it was kind of sparkly, too! She carefully opened a bottle and poured some of the mysterious drink in her own red party cup to disguise it, and then crept away. Maybe it was a magic potion to let them escape that Monokuma left as an easter egg! Or maybe, it was a magic potion that gave her special powers! I should taste it just in case, she thought.  
Penny downed it all in one go without any hesitation, and the world around her started blurring immediately. Did that mean it was working? She tried to take a step, and her feet were shaky. The colours in the room seemed brighter, and the music was louder. Her head started to beat faster and faster. Maybe it wasn't a magic potion after all…  
She tried to walk over to Rowan and ask if she could identify it, but she kept bumping into people along the way. It was as if her brain and body were disconnected.  
"Hey… Row-row?" Penny slurred when she finally found her.  
"Yes, Penny? Are you feeling alright?" Rowan raised an eyebrow.  
"I'm spectacular, girl! I've never felt better! I just had a quick simple question…"  
"Well, I'll try my best to answer it," Rowan said and refilled her party cup with more punch.  
"... What is the meaning of life?" She threw her hands up and squinted at the ceiling. "What if there really is a God, or multiple Gods? Or Goddesses? Imagine a whole religion of only Goddesses to worship—"  
"Penny, look at me," Rowan replied calmly. She tried to, but no matter what Penny couldn't get her eyes to focus. Rowan frowned, then pressed her hands against her forehead checking for a fever. She raised her eyebrow as she felt that she was in fact a bit warm. "What did you eat and drink in the past few hours?"  
"Oh, I had the most wonderful food! Row-row, you should be the Super Stellar Chef! Actually, I heard there was some fat guy who was the chef… Teru-something, I think? Nah, I think that guy was in some other school in Japan. But I bet you're way better!"  
"Penny, please answer my question." Rowan was genuinely worried about her health. What if someone was trying to do something bad? After what happened to Saffron and Olive just a few days ago, she was becoming paranoid at every unusual occurrence. But she really hated to mistrust her classmates at this point.  
"Oh, I remember now! I had cookies, fruit punch, and a sparkly potion!"  
Rowan narrowed her eyes at Penny's cup. "What… kind of sparkly potion?"  
"Okie dokie!" She cheered happily and skipped over to the corner where she found the bottles and pointed at the open one she took from. Rowan picked it up, carefully inspecting the label. This hadn't been in anything she'd prepared. In fact, she'd never seen this before in the entire camp. When she looked closer at the fine print, she suddenly realized what had happened.  
"Penny," Rowan started. "Can you stay in the lounge and stay with Poppy and Elliot?"  
"Sure… farewell, magical friend!" While Penny went off to find her friends, Rowan sighed and glanced at the label again. She was going to have to have a very, very long talk with Blake and Valerie.

Rowan shook her head as she approached the two. “You two are the most irresponsible people I’ve ever met.” Her voice was barely audible over the pumping music, but the DJ managed to catch a few words.  
“Thanks, yo! I never thought anyone would call me responsible in my life!” he said enthusiastically.  
Valerie snickered and nudged him in the stomach. “She said you’re irresponsible, dummy.”  
“Oh?” Blake raised an eyebrow. “But if I’m so irresponsible, then how did I just throw the sickest memorial party in history?”  
Rowan rolled her eyes. “You’re not making any sense. Look at what you’ve done to Penny!” she cried, gesturing to her.  
Valerie turned to the Seer, who was stumbling about. “Hey, Penny did that to herself,” retorted Valerie. “Look, Rowan! We'll put away the drinks, if you want. Not our fault that Penny thought they were some magic potions or some shit!”  
“It’s your fault for even getting the drinks in the first place,” Rowan said, glaring at them. “Look at Penny. She’s a mess!”  
She gestured towards the Seer, who was now screaming the lyrics of Call Me Maybe into the microphone. Poppy and Elliot wore concerned expressions, as the song playing on the karaoke machine was something entirely different. Then, Blake's face lit up. "I have an idea! I can play the song Poppy requested. It practically sobers up everybody, trust me."  
Rowan frowned. "And why should I trust you again? Penny could've gotten killed."  
"Because," Blake smirked as he pushed a button at his turntables. "Wait for it."

Then, Mr. C's Cha Cha Slide started blasting on the speakers.

It was like a spell had been cast suddenly on everybody in the cabin. As soon as the funky, upbeat music began pulsing through the walls, everybody rushed into the main room and started dancing. It was like magic. Penny dropped everything and ran, leaving her cup behind. Elliot took that opportunity to throw it out, and then joined the others. For a minute it seemed like everybody really was having fun, and that the party got their minds off their horrific situation they were living in.

That is, until Penny ran up onto Blake and took his microphone.

"Alright, folks… are y'all havin' a good time?!" she shouted, the audio feedback ringing through the room. Blake struggled to pull it away from her but failed.  
"Well, I can make your night even better! Time for… drum roll please… horoscopes! Who's up first?" She closed her eyes, spun around and randomly pointed to a person— Olive.  
"Ah, dearest Olive… you have a bright future. Lucky numbers are 4, 12, and 41, and your piece of advice is to mind your own business!" She screeched while prancing around and nearly knocking over Blake's DJ equipment.  
"And you! Poppy!" Penny brought her voice to a whisper. "Lucky numbers are 7, 19, 36… and your advice is… to face your fears, because pretty soon you'll have no other choice!" She finished triumphantly.  
"Oh, Nolan," she continued. "You must be very cautious! Lucky numbers are 3, 15, 35! And my life-saving advice is… lose it before you can't!" The class was starting to lose interest in her. She had to do something! What was wrong with spouting random pieces of advice that could be slightly unsettling at times? Nevertheless, she was there to entertain her friends!  
As she was surveying the crowd and deciding her next target, Elliot headed up to her, took her microphone and pulled her to the side. Despite all her attempts to free herself from the Angler’s grip, he soon pulled her to the nearest couch and sat her down with a glass of water. She tried to get up, but she found herself too dizzy to do so.  
“He-e-ey, Elliot… what gives?” she asked, picking up the water. “My fans need me out there!”  
Elliot only shook his head and sat down next to her. “They’ll be fine without you. Now drink.” She did as she was told, downing half the glass of water. “I want you to rest here,” said Elliot. “Rowan’s putting away the drinks now, and I don’t want you to go searching for them. Now—” Elliot got up. “I’m going to go grab you something to eat. Stay here, don’t get up.” With that, he left for the refreshments table.

***

“Come one, come all!” cried Valerie into the microphone. “The amazing karaoke lounge has finally been set up!” She gestured to the door leading to the lounge, a big grin on her face. “C’mon in and sing a bit! Have some fun, loosen up! Stay awake! That’s what this party’s all about, isn’t it?” Once she was done speaking, she put the microphone back on its stand and headed towards the lounge, a small group of people following suit. Penny immediately jumped up from her seat, and against Elliot’s advice, she rushed into the karaoke lounge with the others.  
The lounge was rather small— a little less than half the size of the main room. A colorful, seemingly battery-powered disco ball lit up the room with flashing colors, setting the mood. Poppy, Jasper, Saffron, Blake, Valerie, Nolan, Penny, and Anabel strode in tiredly. Anabel had in fact not wanted to come as she believed it was a waste of time, but seeing that half the class was participating, well, she might as well participate too.  
Blake insisted on going first. He always did when it came to singing. He hopped up to the stage excitedly, microphone in one hand in and song manuel in the other. He and Valerie wanted to perform a duet, and after seeing his songs at the beginning of the party the rest of the classmates weren't exactly yearning to hear him sing again. Nobody else volunteered to go first however, so Blake cleared his throat to make an announcement.

BLAKE: "Welcome, one and all, to Blake and Val's Awesome And Totally Cool Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious Party Bash Thingy's Karaoke Fun Times!"  
POPPY: "... Did you just get the name of the party and add "karaoke fun times" at the end of it?"  
BLAKE: "Duh! You thought I was creative enough to come up with another name?"  
JASPER: "Oh no, we hoped that you would come up with the most unique name ever."  
BLAKE: "Well, sorry to disappoint. We got a sign-up sheet over there for anyone who wants to go. Since none of you pansies volunteered to go first, Val and I are gonna set the bar real high!"  
NOLAN: "Oh, I'm terrified."  
VALERIE: "You should be. We're doing the best song in the history of songs."  
ANABEL: "Bad Romance is not the best song in the history of songs."  
BLAKE: "To you! Bad Romance is, like, the second best-est song ever."  
ANABEL: "'Best-est' isn't a word."  
POPPY: "What do you classify as the first best song ever, then?"  
BLAKE: "All Taylor Swift, of course!"  
ANABEL: "Hold on. Before we begin, can we do something about the temperature? It's too cold."  
POPPY: "Oh! I brought some space heaters from the warehouse just in case. We could use those!"  
ROWAN: "Can you start them please, Poppy?"  
POPPY: "Sure. Be right back."  
BLAKE: "Fine. Now, stop interrupting our vibe and let us start!"

And with that, Blake began the first verse of Bad Romance. Although he didn't quite hit the full vocal range, his classmates applauded for him. Valerie picked up at the chorus, and the two took turns singing the full song. Poppy returned after they finished, and the cabin became noticeably warmer.

POPPY: “Alright, I’ve set up all the space heaters. I’m gonna put a couple in the corner here in case we need any extra ones later.”  
ROWAN: “Oh, I doubt we’d need more. All this equipment and heaters are taking up so much power…”  
BLAKE: "That was the sickest moment in my entire life. And I've had a lot of sick moments."  
ROWAN: "That certainly was… entertaining. Who would like to go next?"  
JASPER: "Saffy, do a song with me?"  
SAFFRON: "Oh! Er, o-okay… what song would you like to sing?"  
JASPER: "Hey Poppy, flip the book open to a random page and choose any song."  
POPPY: "Sure. And the winning song is… It's Not Unusual!"

Poppy clicked a few buttons on the machine, and soon enough the instrumental started up. The pair began to sing the classic song, following the same system as Blake and Valerie and switching each verse. Though they were a bit awkward at first, they soon got used to it and ended up singing the last verse together.

BLAKE: "Nice job, yo!  
SAFFRON: "Th-thanks…"  
BLAKE: "And now, for a special surprise I've been waiting 'till now to show you guys!"  
PENNY: "Ooh, what is it?"  
BLAKE: "It's a— oh wait nevermind. I lost the bomb."  
ROWAN: "The what now?"  
BLAKE: "My bomb! It was my weapon. Y'know, like the ones Monokuma gave us. Cool, right?"  
ROWAN: "Why did you bring that here, and how do you lose a bomb?"  
BLAKE: "Oh, I lose stuff all the time. I left the bomb in my pocket, but now it's not here!"  
ANABEL: "If we don't know where it is, it could go off at any time…"  
BLAKE: "Oh, wait! I remember now! Yes, I put the bomb down at some point… and I never got it back. Someone must have stolen it."  
VALERIE: "Is this a good time to say 'aw, fuck'?"  
JASPER: "I would think so, yeah."  
VALERIE: "Aw, fuck."  
BLAKE: "Oh, it's fine. You see, the bomb has a switch to a detonate it. It's separate. Whoever stole it probably didn't know that, and look— I’ve got it right here!"  
ROWAN: "Oh, thank goodness. So nothing will happen?"  
BLAKE: "Nope."  
VALERIE: "Why did you leave your bomb lyin' around, dumbass?"  
BLAKE: "I dunno, I probably took it out when I went to the bathroom or something. I'm not responsible for my own actions."  
POPPY: "You've got a lot to learn."  
BLAKE: "Anyways, sorry I can't show you my super cool weapon. Back to karaoke!"  
VALERIE: "Does anyone here really want to go? Poppy?"  
POPPY: "Nah, not feeling up to it. What about you, Nolan?"  
NOLAN: "I haven't sang karaoke in fifty four years, Princess Leia. Fat chance."  
PENNY: "Well, my voice is good for everything except singing."  
ROWAN: "Count me out on this one, too. That leaves you, Anabel."  
ANABEL: "Heavens, no… I'd be too embarrassed."  
NOLAN: "Aw, c'mon! Who's judging you?"  
ANABEL: "I never sang as a child. I was too busy focusing on my studies."  
BLAKE: "You never know 'till you try! Get up there! Poppy, cue a song!"  
ANABEL: "Oh, my…"  
POPPY: "What do you wanna sing?"  
ANABEL: "You may choose anything for me, Poppy. I don't mind."  
POPPY: "Okay, I'll pick something easier since it's your first time. How about a Disney song? Did you ever watch those movies?"  
ANABEL: "Some. When I was very young."  
POPPY: "Moana?"  
ANABEL: "... I suppose."

And so, Anabel nervously sang the first verse of How Far I'll Go. She slowly gained more confidence as she saw how supportive her peers were of her. By the end of the song she was smiling and realized she was having fun.

BLAKE: "Damn, Anabel! You're actually pretty good!"  
ANABEL: "That was… enjoyable, to say the least.”  
ROWAN: "You sounded good, Anabel. At least you faced your fear."  
BLAKE: "So, does anyone else wanna go?"  
PENNY: "Nope!"  
POPPY: "Well, that was fun anyways. I'm going to go see if there's any food left in the kitchen. Anyone who wants to come can."

Most of the group followed Poppy outside, however Anabel stayed. She would never admit it, but she actually had a lot of fun doing karaoke. The Attorney slowly picked up the microphone and started another song— one of her favourites.

***

Marion was bored. So, very bored.

The time read two in the morning, and he had nothing to do. For the past hour, he had been taking walks around the islands, fighting his dreariness and urge to fall asleep on the spot. He gripped the handle of his spiked whip tightly, paying no mind to how it dragged on the ground as he walked. Keeping his weapon with him at all times was important. He wouldn’t want anyone to sneak up on him, after all. With the rest of his classmates being at Blake’s idiotic party, there would be no witnesses if he were to be killed. It was a scary thought, but it was the reality of their situation.

It was difficult to see at this hour, so he had brought along a flashlight he’d taken from the warehouse. That place was remarkable, really. It had everything one would ever need. While he was there, he spotted a few things that may come in handy— lighting, masks, small furniture, books… it was a goldmine. He had picked up one book to read in his spare time— some guidebook on writing realistic characters and dialogue. It was a good read so far. Much better than those boring mystery and biology books in the camp store. He stopped, considering whether or not he should head back to his cabin and pick up his place in the book. Deciding to do so, he turned back and began searching for the bridge.

About ten minutes of searching later, he emerged from the forest and began making his way across the bridge. He walked along the edge, his hand brushing by the railings to keep himself steady. He knew that falling into the water at this time of night would surely mean death, but he was trying to keep himself entertained until the sun came up.  
Eventually, he made it to the end of the bridge safe and sound. He found himself back on the beach of the first island. Unlike the others, he knew his way around the first island’s woods. Walks through the woods were his way to pass the time in the camp. He wasn’t close to anyone in the camp. He had watched as friend groups began to form, as his peers grew closer and closer together. For heaven’s sake, he’d even spotted some flirting going on between Jasper and Saffron and Blake and Valerie. It was fucking disgusting to him— why would anyone pursue romance in a place like this? They had their friends, and he had his walks.

Suddenly, he heard footsteps behind him. His senses became alert as he scoured the area for signs of danger. His grip on his weapon trembled as he slowly turned around.  
“Is anyone there?” he called. His voice echoed through the woods, but an answer didn’t come. He tentatively headed towards the sound of the footsteps. He cracked his whip once in an attempt to get a response. “Reveal yourself, or I’ll have to strike you down!” he cried once more.

To his horror, he heard some familiar laughter from behind some trees. He watched warily as Carmen emerged from the bushes, a grin on her face. How could someone be smiling at a time like this?  
“Carmen?” he asked, lowering his weapon. “Aren’t you supposed to be at the party? Why are you laughing?”  
Carmen shook her head. “Nah, I never planned on going to that stupid party. It’s a waste of time.” She paused. “And I’m laughing at you because you’re so over dramatic,” she said, smirking. “I’m Marion!” she mocked, imitating a deeper voice. “Reveal yourself, or I’ll have to strike you down!” She nearly fell over in a fit of giggles, and Marion rolled his eyes.  
“Yeah, yeah, laugh it up.” Then, he turned to her, narrowing his eyes. “So what are you doing out here?”  
“Huh? I mean, there’s nothing to do ‘cuz of the motive. And… yawn… man, I really hate this motive. I can barely function on less than two hours of sleep.”  
Marion nodded, and the two began to walk. “I can handle it,” he said. “I’m used to not getting a lot of sleep.”  
Carmen raised an eyebrow at him. “Why?” she asked.  
He frowned and shook his head. “Nothing for you to worry about. My bed at home is just getting a bit small, that's all.” Carmen slightly nodded, but it didn’t look like she bought it. “My parents can’t afford a new one,” he added.  
“Oh. That sucks, then.”  
“Yeah."

The two ventured further into the woods. The place was almost pitch black, but Marion’s flashlight was able to light the way. Though the rain was a bit heavy, the two didn’t pay much mind to it.  
“It’s so spooky out here, huh?” said Carmen as Marion shone the flashlight over a tree. “It’s like we’re in a horror game or something. Watch. A ghost is gonna pop outta that bush any second now.” Carmen turned to find that Marion had paled, his grip on his weapon tightening even more. She raised an eyebrow and said, “What, are you afraid?”  
Marion quickly shook his head. “N-no. Of course not. Do you really think that I would be afraid of ghosts? That’s an insult. I’m not afraid of anything.”  
“Look, a ghost!” exclaimed Carmen.  
The Puppeteer let out a yelp and immediately grabbed her arm. She cackled as she shook her arm free. “Oh my god, this is golden,” she said between laughs. “You’re scared of ghosts!”  
Marion scowled at her as the two continued walking. He couldn’t believe this girl— first she makes fun of how ‘overdramatic’ he was, then she makes fun of his fear? How rude could she be? “A-and what’s so wrong with that?” spat Marion. “It’s a— it’s a common fear. Get over yourself.”  
“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” Carmen eyed the red spiked whip he carried so tightly in his hands. “A whip, huh?” He nodded in response, but didn’t say anything. “That’s neat, I guess. Hey, look what I got.” She pulled up her jacket a bit to reveal a pair of daggers in her belt. It was hard for Marion to see them in the darkness, but he could make out their shape. Carmen pulled one out. “Cool, eh?”  
Marion scoffed. “That’s it?” he asked, ignoring Carmen’s offended expression. “Do you even know how to use them?”  
“Do you even know how to use a whip?” she retorted. She shook her head. “And for your information, I’m great at using daggers. Look.” She stopped walking and began spinning and flipping the dagger around in her hand. After a few spins, however, she spun it at an awkward angle and ended up slicing her palm. She cursed to herself as she quickly returned the dagger to her belt and began applying pressure to her wound. Marion’s eyes widened as he saw a bit of blood spilling out, but said nothing.  
“We have to get to the medical cabin,” she muttered, turning back. “I need some bandages.”  
Marion’s expression didn’t waver. “Then you can go by yourself,” he said plainly. “That was your own fault.”  
“I don’t know the damn way— this place is a maze.” She turned to look up at him. “What, do you know where it is?”  
He hesitated for a moment. “Yes,” he finally said. “I know my way around here.” He sighed and picked up the flashlight. “Come on, it’s back this way.”  
“Thanks,” said Carmen as she turned to follow him.

“Is the cut deep?” he asked, pushing away a bush and letting Carmen through. “If it’s really deep, I might have to call Rowan to help you out. But if it’s just a scratch, we could just clean it out and slap a bandage on it.”  
Carmen shook her head. “It’s just a scratch, don’t worry,” she said. “The dagger barely touched me.” She paused. “I mean, there was a bit of blood, but y’know. I’ve had worse.”  
“Yeah, then… we could get that fixed up real quick.”  
Carmen smiled as she took off her scarf to use as a makeshift bandage. “Thanks.”  
“It’s no problem.”  
The two continued walking, and soon enough the medical cabin came into view. Marion led her up the stairs and into the cabin, where he immediately got to work fixing up her hand. Soon enough, her wound had been cleaned and a bandage was neatly wrapped around it. Afterwards, the two exited the cabin and returned to their aimless stroll.

“You’re not as bad of a person as I thought,” Carmen said as they stepped over a shrub. Marion turned to stare at her, a confused expression on his face.  
“Really?” he asked, almost as if he thought otherwise. “All I did was give you a bandage. Hell, I was about to leave you to go to the cabin by yourself earlier.”  
“Yeah, but you didn’t.”  
The two walked in silence for the next while. There wasn’t much to talk about, anyway. As they passed by the tennis court, Carmen gasped and pointed towards the distance. “Look!” she cried. “A ghost!”  
At first, Marion thought the Skier was just trying to trick him again. But to his horror, he could just faintly see a lanky silhouette in the distance. Quickly, he shone the flashlight in that direction, and let out a frightened yelp when the figure’s eyes grew bright. In the light, he could see that the ghost was holding what appeared to be a long trident. He was frozen in place. He didn’t know what to do.

Then, the figure began rushing towards them, trident in hand and ready to attack.

“Fuck!” screamed Marion, grabbing Carmen’s arm and dashing in the other direction.  
Carmen laughed as the Puppeteer pulled her along. “You’re such a wimp!” she cackled. “Look, it’s probably Nolan again. That asshole finds it funny to hide in the bushes and scare people at night. I know from experience!”  
Marion shook his head as he kept running. “Then where the fuck did Nolan get a trident? And how did he get so tall?!” he cried.  
Carmen glanced behind them, and could just barely see the ‘ghost’ in the distance. ”Oh my god, stop being such a baby and calm down,” she complained, pulling back Marion’s arm. “C’mon, it’s not like they’re gonna kill us.”  
“Car! They’re gonna fucking kill us! They have a weapon and no witnesses!”  
“Relax!” Carmen brandished her daggers once more, awkwardly spinning them in her hands. “And if they do want to kill us, they’ll have to get through me first.”  
“And you called me overdramatic.”  
“Shut up, they’re coming.”

The pair stood still as the footsteps grew closer. As if on cue, their flashlight soon flickered out and lost battery. Marion swore under his breath and put the flashlight aside. He held his whip, ready to attack. He felt the sweat forming above his brow— if their chaser really wanted to kill them, there were two ways this could pan out. The chaser could kill both of them, or they could kill the chaser. And if they killed their chaser, they would be considered blackened. Then, they’d get executed. Neither were good ways to go out. Then again, Marion could run. He could run away, and escape this situation entirely.  
Soon, the figure became visible in the distance. Marion swallowed the lump in his throat as he watched the person slow down. The person began walking ever so slowly towards the pair, the large trident held over their shoulder. Carmen squinted in an attempt to see who it was. It was definitely a boy, but that was all she could make out. Then, to her confusion, the person turned right and began walking away.  
“What the hell was that?” asked Carmen, lowering her daggers. “Gonna give us a good scare, then just saunter away like that? Geez.”  
Marion sighed. “On the bright side, none of us were hurt by them.”  
“Yeah, I guess.”

Carmen bent over to pick up the dead flashlight. When she was about to pick it up, she stopped and stared at the tree trunk in front of her. “What… what is that?”  
“What is what?” Marion leaned down to see what she was looking at.  
“The tree trunk,” she mumbled. She lifted her fist to the tree and gave it a hard knock. To their surprise, it sounded like she had knocked on something metal and hollow. Marion furrowed his brow as he picked up the broken flashlight and gave it a few clicks. The light flashed for just enough time for him to see a very tiny brown handle— just the same color as the tree. He looked to Carmen, who gave him a shrug. Hesitantly, he took the tiny handle and pulled it open.  
To his surprise, the entire tree had been hollowed out. He poked his head through the door only to find a long ladder leading downwards into the earth. Carmen saw this as well, and she immediately sighed and stepped away from the tree.  
“Alright,” she said, pulling Marion back from the door. “This is obviously some weird kinda camp secret that the mastermind probably doesn’t want us to find.”  
“You think?”  
Carmen nodded. “Yeah. I say we don’t explore it for now. We can’t call for help if we get ourselves into trouble because everyone’s busy having fun at Blake’s stupid party.”  
“Alright, fine.” Marion backed away from the tree. “Let’s just… leave it for now. We can tell the others later, then we can check it out together.” Under his breath, he added, “It’d be really cool if we could check it out for ourselves right now, though.”  
Carmen glared at him. “Now, I’m usually into doing dangerous and impulsive shit like this. But in this murder camp, there’s a million ways for us to die. I don’t wanna die because I was stupid enough to crawl into a weird tree ladder and get myself fucking murdered down there.”  
Marion huffed. “Fine, we’ll wait.” He got up and dusted himself off. “So, where to now?” he asked.  
“I ‘unno,” Carmen muttered. “Hey, maybe we should go check out the party.”  
“Pfft, no way. I’m not going there. They’re probably singing Disney songs on karaoke and doing other stupid shit.”  
Carmen chuckled. “What else do you think they’re doing there?”  
“God, I don’t want to know.”  
“Hey, hey, here’s an idea.” Carmen reached into her pocket and took out three Monocoins. “If we get there and at least one person’s drunk, you can have ‘em.”  
Marion stared at the three shining coins. “Who did you slap to get those?” he asked.  
“None of your business,” she said, stuffing the coins back in her pocket. “God, there are so many annoying people in this camp. And now that I’m getting rewarded for slapping people for saying bullshit, I’ve never been happier!”  
Marion nodded. “I feel you.” He turned and began walking in the direction of the bridge. “Anyway, I’ll take you up on your deal. Let’s go check out this party.”  
“Watch,” Carmen said as she ran to catch up with him. “They’re gonna be blastin’ the Cha Cha Slide and stuffing themselves with cupcakes. Someone’s gonna be drunk as fuck, I just know it.”  
Marion laughed, and Carmen raised an eyebrow at him. Marion? Genuinely laughing? That was unheard of.

As the two crossed over the bridge discussing the possible shenanigans their classmates were getting up to, Marion felt glad for the first time since he had entered the camp. It was nice to have someone to talk and laugh with for once. Could he even call her a friend? He smiled to himself. Maybe he could. He knew it wasn’t likely, but he silently hoped that she would stay with him longer than the last person he called a friend.

***

About half an hour before Marion and Carmen met on the first island, the karaoke group exited the lounge only to find that the party had considerably calmed down. Most of the other students were seated at chairs and on couches, chatting amongst themselves and enjoying the cupcakes and punch. The music playlist that Blake had arranged was still playing, and a few students had began wondering exactly how long his playlist was.

“Hey,” said Tate, approaching Olive at the food table. They’d been meaning to ask her about Thomas ever since he was brought up as a suspect for the liar at Anabel’s meeting. “So, uh, what’s up?”  
“Nothin’ much, really,” replied Olive, taking a plastic cup and filling it with punch. Once she was done serving herself, she began heading back to her seat, Tate following behind her. “This party’s not bad,” she said once she sat down. “The music’s not my style, though. Anyway, I’m just really glad that you’re coming out of your shell, Tate.”  
Tate nodded. “Yeah, I’m glad too. I still feel a bit nervous about this whole, uh, killing game thing, though. I m-mean, it’s a real thing now, right? It’s scary.”  
“It is,” said Olive, taking a sip from her cup. “But look at us. We’re all becoming great friends, aren’t we? Like, it’s hard to imagine that someone would even think of killing again.” She paused, then frowned. “There’s that shitty motive, though. God, I hope the motives won’t get any worse than this.”  
“If I had to be honest, the motive means nothing to me,” said Tate nonchalantly. Olive turned to them with a fearful expression. “Two hours is my average,” they continued. “All nighters are just regular for me. I just don’t see why people are freaking out about this motive.”  
“I don’t understand either!” chimed in Penny, who had been sitting nearby with a can of pop. She raised her can and downed it all in one go. “It’s like, damn, who even needs sleep anyway? It’s a… it’s a huge, ‘ol waste of time, I’m tellin’ ya, Olly. You can get so much done if you just… don’t sleep. People keep panicking because they apparently need their beauty sleep or whatever it’s called, but they are all weaklings! Great and powerful mages such as I do not require sleep!” she cried, her loud voice booming through the whole cabin.  
Olive rolled her eyes. “I can’t believe the two of you,” she muttered.  
“Anyhoo! I’ll see you later!” Penny hopped off her chair and skipped over to the refreshment table, muttering something to herself about the whereabouts of the ‘magic potions’. Tate shook their head and turned back to Olive.  
“So, uh, Olive, I’ve been meaning to ask you something. A-about Thomas.”  
Olive frowned. “What about him?”  
Tate took a deep breath. “Do you think he could’ve been the liar? Or maybe the mole?”  
Olive stopped to ponder this for a second. “I mean, it’s a possibility,” she finally said. “We don’t have any way of checkin’ now, though.”  
“While you were training, did he say anything about himself? About his past?”  
“Hmm… yeah.” Olive snapped her fingers. “He was talkin’ about how poor he was and how he was born with talent or some shit. Something about how all his siblings were nerds and he was the only athletic one. I don’t remember much, sorry.”  
“It’s alright.” Though Olive could’ve just forgotten major details of Thomas’s story, Tate thought that it sounded a bit fishy. But there was no way of knowing anything for sure, so Tate decided to let the topic go and bring it up at the next ASFIM meeting.  
“Fuck, speakin’ of training,” Olive said suddenly. “Guess what we found out earlier?” Tate didn’t even get a chance to respond before Olive continued talking. “Turns out, Rowan thought that I was gonna fuckin’ murder Saffron in cold blood or some shit.” Glancing towards the boy, who had returned to dancing to a more upbeat song with Jasper, she shook her head. “I mean, I know. He’s admittedly an easy target to kill. But apparently, Rowan was so scared of me smashin’ a mace into Saff’s skull that she had to send someone to spy on me and make sure I don’t do shit.”  
Olive looked up to find that Saffron was staring at her with wide eyes upon overhearing what she had just said. “Just tellin’ Tate here about our latest predicament,” she called. “I’m not gonna smash a mace into your skull, don’t gimme that look.”  
“So Rowan doesn’t trust you?” asked Tate. “I thought she loved and trusted everyone.”  
“Apparently not, if she had to send someone in case I decided to go crazy and slit Saffron’s neck.” She ignored Saffron’s alarmed expression from over at the dance floor and continued. “Like, c’mon! I know that we’ve got a shit ton of weapons, but it was just so we could train with them and kill the mastermind organization.”  
“Mmm, well, I think it’s a bit unnecessary,” said Tate.  
“Thank you,” muttered Olive.  
“After all, if one of you ended up dead during training, it’s pretty obvious who did it,” continued Tate. “Plus, you can see the campfire from the cabins. Look, I know that Jolie was able to kill Thomas in plain sight in front of the campfire, but that’s because everyone was kinda distracted at the time. And where was this spy hiding?”  
“In the bushes,” replied Olive.  
“See? That’s dumb,” said Tate. “So, um, if you don’t mind sharing, who is this spy?”  
Olive glanced up at the dance floor, then lowered her voice as she told Tate. “Oh, I see…” said Tate, nodding. “That’s even dumber, then. His cabin’s in the front row. He definitely could’ve watched from his cabin.”  
“I dunno, man. Rowan told him to be all creepy and hide in the bushes so that in case one of us kills the other, there’ll be a secret witness up close.”  
“I guess that makes a bit more sense,” said Tate. “I mean, if you’re up close, you’d be able to see what exactly happened. And from what I’ve seen, Jasper can stay calm in most situations. So he probably wouldn’t freak out too much— he’d go directly to tell the others.”  
“Yeah, I guess.” Olive huffed. “It’s just weird, I guess. Plus, it’s kinda ruined now because Saffron and I both know about him. He can just come out and spectate out in the open now, but he doesn’t wanna, because he’s a fuckin’ coward.”  
“What do you mean?”  
“He didn’t want to come out because he thought that Saffron would get the wrong impression, like he was watchin’ us in the bushes just to be creepy and not because of Rowan’s orders. I told Saffron about it, and he didn’t seem to mind.”  
“I mean,” Tate started. “I guess I kinda get that. Being all paranoid and anxious about what someone thinks of me for nothing. And it, uh, it makes sense. I mean, look at them now.”

Before Tate could continue, the lights in the cabin suddenly flickered off, casting the entire cabin into darkness. Shrieks and cries of surprise erupted through the room, as well as the sounds of hurried footsteps and objects falling over. It was complete and utter chaos.

“What’s going on?!”  
“Huh?! What’s that fuckin’ noise?”  
“H-hold me!”  
“We are being thrust into the eternal void of darkness! Our souls shall be consumed shortly!”  
“Who the fuck’s holding my hand?!”  
“A-ah! I’m sorry! Why are your hands so clammy?”  
“Fuck you, I’m sweaty!”  
“Eww.”  
“Hey, who’s singing?”  
“Argh! I spilled something!”  
“Ow! I bumped into someone! Sorry, mystery person!”  
“Does anyone have a flashlight?”  
“Oh! I think I might’ve put one around here somewhere…”

Suddenly, a tiny flashlight switched on, revealing Poppy’s face. She began pointing it around the room, and soon came across a shattered glass bowl, its contents spilled around it in a large puddle. She huffed. “There goes the punch, I guess. But that’s ok! We have more in the kitchen!”  
“Sorry,” mumbled Jasper, taking a nearby napkin and wiping the punch off his shirt.  
Rowan sighed and looked around. “Oh goodness, this place is an absolute mess…” She turned to the rest of the group. “Could you all look for some more flashlights?”  
“I’ve brought some just in case, yo.” Blake turned and began digging in a box of equipment before turning up with a handful of tiny flashlights. Guided by Poppy’s flashlight, he began walking around the main room and placing them on tables and chairs. He had brought about ten, but due to their small size they weren’t able to fully illuminate the cabin.  
“Does anyone else have any sources of light?” called out Rowan, turning on her E-Handbook and flicking on the flashlight feature.  
“Oh, there was the disco ball in the lounge,” said Valerie. “It runs on battery, I think. So it should still be working.”  
“Yeah, good. Bring it in,” ordered Elliot. Valerie nodded and promptly turned down the hallway to retrieve the disco ball from the lounge.  
Poppy put down the flashlight and headed over to her friend. “Man, what do you think could’ve caused this?” she asked. Elliot only shrugged, picking up his cup of punch and taking a drink.  
“I’m not sure,” he said, putting it down. “I mean, it’s raining pretty hard outside. Could’ve been lightning.”  
“Yeah, probably.”

Rowan made her way to the centre of the room and cleared her throat. “Alright, everyone,” she said. “I’ll need a few of you to head out and grab some lanterns and flashlights. There’s a few in the warehouse, but I know there’s a lot more in the camp store.”  
“Alright, I’ll go,” Jasper said, taking his hat and scarf from a nearby coat rack. “Anyone got an umbrella?”  
“I’ve got my cloak!” offered Penny, unclipping it from her shoulders and holding it out. “It’s very big, so I think you’ll be able to fit underneath it. It’s even enchanted with a special charm for protection!”  
Jasper hesitantly headed up to her. “You sure?” he asked, taking it from her hands and pulling it over his head. “I wouldn’t want to ruin it or anything. It seems very… dear to you.”  
“Hmm… you’re right!” Penny snatched back the cloak and held it close to her. “What was I thinking, letting a mere mortal lay their filthy hands on such a magical object? Hmph! You should feel super ashamed of yourself!” Jasper gave her a strange look before putting his hat on and pulling the door open. A powerful gust of wind blew into the cabin, and a few people in the way groaned and shielded themselves.  
“How many will I need to grab?” asked Jasper, turning back to the group. “I’m only making one trip.”  
Rowan thought for a second. “About a dozen flashlights, maybe?” she suggested. “Grab about five lanterns too. Oh, and a few packs of batteries.”  
Jasper raised an eyebrow at her. “Do I look like I have three sets of arms?”  
“You’ve gotta hold the batteries and a lantern in your mouth,” called out Nolan. Jasper only rolled his eyes and turned to Saffron.  
“Maybe I should take someone with me?” he asked, glancing back to Rowan. Rowan paused, then nodded.  
“Yes, that’d be better,” she said. Saffron gave Jasper a soft smile as he hurried to the coat rack and grabbed his cardigan. “Just be careful,” warned Rowan. “It’s pouring out there. Don’t catch a cold! Come back as soon as possible.”  
“Of course!”

The two left, quickly shutting the door so that no more rain and wind would be let in. Due to the blackout, the heaters had stopped working, leaving the class shivering. Then, a door closed from the hallway and Valerie and Anabel entered the main room, a large disco ball in Valerie’s hands.  
“Got the disco ball,” she said, setting it down on the nearest table and flicking it on. Immediately, colorful circles of light began moving around the walls, brightening up the cabin a bit more. “Plus, while we were all panicking about the blackout, Anabel here was busy singin’ and dancin’ like nobody was watching.”  
“I was doing no such thing,” snapped Anabel, nudging Valerie and ignoring her snickering. “I was just singing along to a few songs, is all.”  
“I caught you dancing on the coffee table and doing gestures like you were in a musical,” said Valerie, grabbing a cupcake. Anabel glowered at her, and Valerie laughed. “C’mon! There’s nothing to be ashamed of! You sound wonderful!”  
Anabel took a deep breath, and her expression relaxed. “Thank you, Valerie,” she said flatly.  
“Oh!” Blake bounded towards her and took her by the shoulders. “You love karaoke? I love karaoke! What is happening here, yo?” He patted her on the back and gave her a grin. “When we get outta this place, we are going to the nearest karaoke bar and having the time of our lives, baby!”  
“Ah, yes, well… I do suppose that would be nice.”

With the disco ball lighting up the room, the class soon parted off into their own separate friend groups, talking and chatting as if the blackout had never happened. Poppy had gone to the kitchen to fetch the final punch bowl, returning to the main room and setting it down on the refreshments table. Blake had gone to find the music player that Olive had given him, only to find that it was drained of battery. A few students were relieved to hear this, as the upbeat pop music and iconic songs on Blake’s playlist weren’t really their types of music.  
Nolan thought that the party was getting boring. Blake and Valerie really knew how to spice up a party, eh? They advertised this as the sickest memorial party known to man, but now they were all shivering, the strobe lights were giving everyone headaches and quite a lot of people were on the verge of falling asleep. He spotted Blake and Valerie chatting happily in a corner, so he headed over to them and gave a smile.  
“Hey, y’all,” he said, clicking his tongue and giving them finger guns. “So what’s up with this shitty party? All of our guests look pretty bored. You guys are the greatest party hosts ever!”  
Valerie scoffed and rolled her eyes. “This party was amazing just awhile ago,” she snapped. “This blackout just had to ruin all our fun. It’s not our fault.”  
Nolan only shrugged. “I guess so. So, what are you guys doing?”  
“Eh, nothing much,” said Blake, awkwardly turning to Valerie. “We’ve just been talking, yo.”  
The Equestrian tilted his head to the side innocently. “What have you been talking about?”  
The two glanced at each other, and Nolan could swear that he caught the slightest blush on their cheeks under the disco ball’s colorful lights. “Nothing you’d be interested in,” said Valerie. “How about you leave us alone? This is a bit of an intimate moment, and you’re ruining it by butting in.”  
“Oh, I see.” Nolan smirked up at Blake. “You’re hitting on her, eh? Finally found a girl who reciprocates your love? Damn, it’s a miracle! Never thought it would happen! All the girls here are pretty repulsed by you, dude. And Saffron, too. I’m using that jewelry night incident as blackmail, by the way.”  
“What do you want?” asked Valerie. “Did you come here just to make fun of us? I thought we were friends.”  
“Friends?” Nolan scoffed. “I mean, I thought we would be. Val, you were pretty cool for the first few days. Remember our game of tennis? But here I am, third-wheelin’ you two, takin’ these hard slaps just to get some stupid prizes from a dumb prize machine… do you even consider me part of the group? Is there even a group?”  
Blake stepped forward. “Dude, we don’t mean to leave you out of things. It’s just that me and Val have been gettin’ pretty close.”  
“And?”  
“I’m just really enjoying her company, Nolan.”  
“I just think that it’s dumb that you two are spending so much time together and leaving me out of it. Val and I were besties until you came around!”  
Valerie raised an eyebrow. “We were?” she asked. “I mean, you were alright, I guess. But no offense— I’m having so much more fun with Blake. I mean, you’re cool too! But like, if I’d have to pick between the two of you…”  
“You’re so insensitive, you know that?” Nolan frowned. “I just want to be included!”  
“Nolan, you’re really loud.”

Nolan turned and noticed a few people quickly turn away as if they weren’t watching their conversation. Nolan sighed and turned back to them.  
“We’ll deal with this later,” he hissed. “For now, I think we should start up a game to keep our guests entertained.”  
“A game?” asked Blake. “Uh, what did you have in mind?”  
Nolan shrugged. “Anything. Paranoia. Seven minutes in heaven. Truth or dare?” he suggested.  
“Truth or dare it is,” said Blake, stepping forward and clearing his throat. “Hey, everyone having a good time?” he called out. Ignoring their negative responses, he grinned and clasped his hands together. “Great, great! So, anyone wanna come in for a game of truth or dare?”

Realizing that they didn’t have anything better to do, so the group slowly made their way to the middle of the room and sat in a circle. It was getting chillier by the minute, and some of the students were huddling closer together for warmth. The room was still rather dim, so Nolan got up and took one of Blake’s mini flashlights from the nearby table and set it up in the centre of the circle. Then, Blake sat down and smiled at the group.  
“So, who wants to go first?” he asked enthusiastically. Silence followed, and Blake frowned. “Aw, man. I don’t wanna start. I have to admit, I’m shit at coming up with dares.” He turned to Olive, who was seated next to him. “Yo, Olive. You start.”  
“Alright, sure. Can I pick anyone?” she asked. Blake nodded, so she thought for a moment and extended a finger towards Elliot.

"Hey, Elliot! Truth or dare?"  
Elliot appeared startled, but soon calmed once again. He considered his options for a moment, tapping his chin. "Dare," he replied firmly.  
She smiled mischievously and noticed his trident standing against the wall— the weapon Monokuma had given him.  
"I dare you…" Olive started. "To stalk Marion."  
"Oh, c'mon. I am not stalking Marion, the only person in the camp whom I hate!"  
Olive grinned. "And," She added. "You have to bring your trident. Follow him around menacingly for a good five minutes, silently. Make sure he sees you at one point.”  
"This will be the death of me," Elliot groaned as he stood up. He snatched the blue trident from the wall, huffed, and opened up the door. The powerful gusts of wind blew into the cabin once again, and a few of the students let out cries of surprise. Elliot slammed the door shut and put his trident down. “I’m not going out there,” he said, sitting back at his place.  
“You have to do it,” said Olive, a smirk on her face.  
“Do you want me to get sick out there? Just pick someone else.”  
“You can borrow my cloak!” exclaimed Penny, taking it off once again. “I trust you with it! After all, you are a fellow mage now!” She tossed it across the circle, and Elliot barely managed to catch it. “Just don’t get it wrinkled or ripped! If you do, I’ll curse you!”  
Elliot nodded, pulling the cloak’s hood over his head. “Yeah, of course. Don’t worry, I won’t ruin it.”  
“Good to hear!” Penny folded her arms. “Now go forth and stalk Marion!”  
With a sigh, Elliot fastened the cloak over his shoulders, took his trident and slipped out.  
“How will we know if he actually did it?” asked Tate quietly. “He could easily go back to his cabin and just… not do it.”  
“We’ll ask Marion later,” said Olive, smiling. “Now, who wants to go next?”  
Again, there were no volunteers. The group sat in an awkward silence for a few moments, then Rowan spoke up. “Ah, why not?” she said. “Hm… Tate?”  
“O-oh, hi.”  
“Will you pick a truth or a dare?”  
Tate bit their lip. Rowan wasn’t a bad person— she wouldn’t make them lick the sink or embarass themself in front of the whole class. So even if they picked dare, they really wouldn’t be in any danger. But to be on the safe side, they chose truth.  
Rowan grinned at them. “So, is it true that there will be a Lions and Lords sequel?” she asked excitedly. “I have heard many rumors about it online, but I’d love for some confirmation.”  
Tate shrugged. “Well, uh, I’m not sure, actually. If I get out of here, then maybe I’ll start planning it. But honestly, I think that the first book ended off pretty well.”  
“I see,” said Rowan, nodding. Tate thanked the heavens that Rowan wasn’t one of those crazy, obsessive fans. “Although, I do believe we deserve a little explanation about what exactly happened to Gaqiph after he sacrificed himself to be banished to the moon.”  
“Well,” started Tate. “He was banished to the moon, taking Udryl with him so that he could never terrorize the galaxy ever again. The two of them will be sealed there for all of eternity.”  
Rowan sighed. “Darn. I liked Gaqiph.”  
“Yeah,” said Tate. “But if I write a sequel, maybe you’ll get to see him again. Oh, you could be one of my beta readers!”  
Rowan gasped and nodded quickly. “Yes! Of course, I’d love that!” she exclaimed.  
“The sequel isn’t guaranteed, though,” said Tate. “B-but if you want more Gaqiph content, I guess you could go for the fanfiction sites. A couple of them are actually pretty good.”  
“Of course,” said Rowan. “Thank you.”  
“I understood absolutely none of that nerd shit,” said Valerie immediately. “Anyway, I wanna go now!” She quickly turned to Blake, a devilish grin on her face. “Truth or dare?”  
“Dare, of course!” he said. “Who do you think I am?”  
“Hmm…” Valerie glanced around the dim cabin for inspiration. “I dare you…” Her eye landed on the new, untouched bowl of punch at the refreshment table. “I dare you to chug that bowl of punch. The whole thing— in one go.”  
“The whole thing?” repeated Nolan, a grin on his face. “I wanna see that. Go, Blake! Chug!”  
Blake smiled. “Alright, here I go!”

He immediately got up and strode towards the punch table with a skip in his step. The rest of the group intently watched as he rubbed his hands together and tried to lift up the heavy bowl. Once he had it comfortably in his hands, he flashed a grin at the group and proceeded to bring the bowl up to his lips. He then started to chug it down, and soon enough the glass bowl was empty. With a smile, he took a napkin and wiped away some of the punch left on his lips. He turned to the group and raised his arms up in pride, receiving a round of applause from the circle. He smirked at Poppy’s expression— she seemed horrified at how quickly he had drained the punch that she had spent so much time making.

Suddenly, he felt a sudden, searing pain in his throat and lungs. His eyes widened as he stumbled forwards, clutching against his chest. His heart suddenly hurt so much, and the pain was unbearable. Blake could hear the shrieks of his classmates, and though his vision was blurry he could just barely see Valerie rushing up to him and asking him frantic questions. He couldn’t focus on what she was saying, though. He couldn’t breathe anymore. Then, he let out a strained scream as he lurched forward and threw up. He knew he was done for. He heard one of the girls screaming, and he could faintly see that his hands and the floor beneath him was soaked in dark red.

He stumbled and stirred a bit, then his body suddenly fell face first into the puddle of his own blood. Immediately, chaos broke out within the group, screaming and shouting at the horrific sight they had just witnessed. Then, their panic was interrupted by a familiar melody playing out of the loudspeaker.

*** DING DONG, DONG DING ***

Monokuma’s obnoxious voice sounded through a speaker on the wall. “Upupu!” he exclaimed. “A body has been discovered! Everyone, please report to the party cabin on island two immediately!” 


	11. Chapter 2: Periled at the Party (Deadly Life)

“BLAKE!”  
Immediately after the announcement played out, Valerie let out a scream and knelt down beside his body, mouth hanging agape. She couldn’t believe her eyes— her best friend, her favorite celebrity, the one guy she could confide in, lying dead in a pool of blood right in front of her. And she had been forced to watch it happen! She buried her face in her palms and quietly sobbed for him.  
The rest of the class only stared in shock of what they had just witnessed. It had all been so sudden— one minute they were innocently enjoying a game of truth or dare, and the next they had to watch their classmate choke up blood and fall dead on the floor. It was a disgusting sight, and many of the students needed to look away.

Then, the door abruptly swung open. When the students turned to look, they saw Carmen, Marion and Elliot standing at the door, alarmed expressions on all their faces.  
“Who’s dead?!” cried Carmen, rushing into the room. She turned to see the refreshment table and the body lying near it, and she gasped. “There’s so much blood,” she breathed, covering her mouth and turning away. Marion cautiously entered after her, not sure if he wanted to see the body or not. He decided to take a quick glance just to see who had died, looking away as soon as he spotted the messy mop of teal hair. Elliot followed him, and cringed upon seeing the body and the puddle of blood.  
“Fuck,” Marion muttered, turning to Rowan. “What happened here? I thought you made every necessary precaution to prevent another murder.”  
Rowan groaned. “I tried,” she said. “I documented every single dangerous thing in this campsite. I hid away all the weapons. I even made sure that nothing would happen at the training sessions. I…” She let out a defeated sigh. “I just thought that this party would lead to us growing closer together as friends. How could someone ever think of murdering someone here…?”  
Olive sighed as she stared at the dead body. “Dammit,” she muttered. “I don’t wanna do the trial thing again.”  
“M-me neither…” mumbled Tate. “But we have to, or else we’ll all be killed.”  
Olive only shook her head. “This game sucks.”

The door burst open once again, and Jasper and Saffron quickly stepped inside, a couple of flashlights in their hands. “Is it gruesome?” was Jasper’s first question. “Do we want to see it?”  
“Wh-who is it…?” asked Saffron quietly, his eyes darting around the room to see who was present in an attempt to narrow it down.  
“It’s Blake,” said Nolan, heading over to them and shaking his head. “Y’all are lucky. You didn’t have to watch him die. Us, on the other hand…” He sighed. “Anyway, where do you reckon that bear is? Ain’t he supposed to show up by now?”

“I’m here!”

The students turned to see Monokuma standing there, a delighted grin on his face. “Ah, isn’t it wonderfully ironic?” he asked, pacing around the room. “He hosts a memorial party, only to be killed during it. What a shame!” He rubbed his paws together. “Now, you kids know the drill by now, right? I shouldn’t have to repeat myself!”  
He snapped his fingers, and that familiar jingle played from their E-Handbooks. A few students took their devices out and tapped on the Monokuma File application. On the top of the screen were two tabs made for easier navigation— one for every victim. The first tab, when tapped, would display Thomas’s file from a few days ago. The students tapped on the newest tab, the one with a tiny sprite of Blake’s face on it.

MONOKUMA FILE #2  
The victim is Blake Marcato, the Super Stellar DJ. He is 5’8” and weighs roughly 125lbs. The time of death was roughly 2:05am. The body was found in the main party room of the second abandoned cabin. The cause of death was poisoning. There are no other external injuries.

“You’ll have 30 minutes!” exclaimed Monokuma. “Then, it’ll be time again for the camp trial! I’m so excited! Well, ta-ta! Happy investigating, kids!” With that, he merrily skipped out the door and disappeared.

Tate sighed as they clicked their E-Handbook off. They couldn’t believe they were being put through this again. This murder scared them a lot more than the last. Anyone could’ve drank from that punch— anyone could’ve died. It could’ve been Olive, or Anabel, or Rowan… or them. What Blake went through seemed too painful for words, though it might’ve just been because he ingested all that poison by drinking the whole bowl of punch. They turned to the body only to find that Valerie hadn’t stopped weeping over it. They approached her with a faint smile. They weren’t close to Valerie nor Blake— their personalities were polar opposites of theirs— but they felt obligated to comfort her.  
“H-hey,” they said quietly, kneeling down to Valerie’s level. “Are… are you okay?”  
Valerie removed her hands from her face, her eyes and cheeks soaked with tears. “N-not really, genius—” She sniffed and turned to the Author. “F-fuck this game,” she muttered. “J-just… fuck, man.”  
“Val?”  
Valerie turned to see Nolan looking down at her, his hands shoved in his pockets. “I’m sorry,” he said. “We’re gonna find out who did this, alright?”  
“Y-yeah, of course…” She got up and wiped away her tears with a nearby napkin. “A-alright, I don’t wanna see that shit anymore,” she said, stepping away from the body. “It makes me sad. I’m not investigating it.”

“Alright, everyone,” said Rowan, gathering the attention of the group. “I’m sorry to say that Blake has left us. We’ll need to investigate quickly and figure out who did this, or else we may be joining him soon. I’m terribly sorry that I couldn’t have prevented this.”  
“You couldn’t have done anything to stop it,” said Olive.  
“For those of you who were luckily away,” continued Rowan. “We were playing Truth or Dare when he died. Valerie dared him to chug the entire bowl of punch, but it was poisoned. We’re all here, right? Let’s start investigating, we don’t have much time.”  
With that, the students quickly formed small groups and got to investigating. Tate, Nolan and Anabel had decided to get down to business and tackle the investigation of the body itself, as not a lot of others were comfortable taking on the gruesome task.

***

“The file says that he was killed through poisoning,” started Anabel, gesturing to the file on her E-Handbook. “We can’t be sure what kind of poisoning, though. Botulinum, cyanide, tetrodotoxin…”  
“Could be batrachotoxin or botox,” chimed in Tate. “Or brodifacoum. Whatever it is, he drank a lot of it and this caused him to die almost instantly. Poor guy…”  
“How the hell do you guys know about so many types of poisons?” asked Nolan, peering into the punch bowl. “It’s creepy.”  
“I had to defend a witness who was accused of poisoning her boyfriend once,” said Anabel. “I had to research poisoning for that case.”  
“And I’m an author,” said Tate plainly. “Hey, pass that bowl.” Nolan did as he was told, and Tate used their hand to waft the smell towards them. Though the fruity scent of the punch was quite prominent, they could faintly smell what seemed to be almonds. They placed the bowl back on the table. “It’s cyanide,” they said. “Smells like almonds.”  
“There we go, then,” said Anabel, bending down to the body and inspecting it. “He was killed through cyanide poisoning. We have our first clue.”  
“I didn’t know that there was cyanide available in the camp,” said Nolan, hand on his chin. “It wasn’t in the camp store, no?”  
Anabel shook her head. “No, I don’t recall seeing any in the camp store. But… hm, I do believe that Rowan was making a list of dangerous items in the camp. Perhaps we could ask her for said list?”  
“Good idea,” said Tate. “Where did Rowan’s group head off to explore again?”  
“Not sure. But I saw her headin’ outside,” replied Nolan. “She’s not here in the cabin.”  
“Okay, well, I don’t want to head out there,” said Tate quickly. “It’s raining so hard. One of you can go look for her.”  
“Not it!” exclaimed Nolan, tapping his nose and smiling brightly at Anabel. “Aww, look at you! You’ve gotta go out into the cold, freezing rain just to find Rowan! Good luck!” he sing-songed.  
Anabel glowered at him. “I am not going out there,” she hissed. “You go out.”  
“I already said that I’m not it!” shot back Nolan. “So you’ve gotta go! What are you waiting for? Investigation’s almost over, chop chop!”  
“Investigation just started,” mumbled Tate.  
“I will not go out there. It is wet and cold.”  
“I don’t wanna go out for the same reason, princess!”  
“Your hat has a large brim. You won’t get too wet.”  
“Well then, here you go!” Nolan took off his hat and plopped it on Anabel’s head. She gave him a sour expression as he laughed at her. “Aw, you look great!” he exclaimed. “It really fits you.”  
Anabel huffed and took off the hat. “I am not wearing your idiotic cowboy hat.”  
“But you have to!” sang Nolan, putting it back on her head. “Embrace your inner cowgirl, Anabel.”  
She groaned and adjusted the brim. “Fine. I shall. Now, if you'll excuse me, I’m off to find Rowan.”  
Nolan smiled at her as she pulled open the main door and left. Then, he turned back to Tate and sighed. “Anyway, you find any more clues?”  
Tate got up. “No, there’s nothing else to look at here,” they said. “We all watched him die. If anything, we should be trying to figure out how the cyanide got into the punch in the first place.”  
“There’s already a group searching the kitchen,” pointed out Nolan, sitting down on a nearby couch. He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. “So, you got any ideas to save us in the trial?”  
Tate shook their head and sat down next to him. “Nope, I’m stumped.”  
“Aw, man.”  
“But I’d guess that the poison was put into the punch during the blackout,” said Tate. “I’m not sure how, though. Poppy’s the only one with the key, and she was clearly in the main room while it was happening. She was the one who had the flashlight, right?”  
Nolan nodded. “Yep. But she could’ve totally mixed the cyanide in the punch while she was making it.”  
“True,” Tate replied. “I dunno, I just think that Poppy’s too nice to have done it. Our killer’s too cold hearted to be Poppy.”  
“Cold hearted?” repeated Nolan.  
“Yeah. Look, whoever the killer was, they weren’t aiming to kill one specific person. The fact that they used the poison punch to kill means that they were willing to kill anyone.”  
“Geez,” said Nolan, leaning back in the couch. “And to think, it could’ve been anyone drinking from that punch. Could’ve been more than one person, too.”  
“Yeah…” Tate thought to themself for a moment. “Nolan, do you remember who knocked over the punch bowl during the blackout?”  
“I think it was Jasper. Why?”  
“What if he knocked it over on purpose so that the poisoned punch bowl would be brought in?”  
“Ooh, that could be right. Or maybe he’s just clumsy.” Nolan’s eyes widened and he snapped his fingers. “Wait, Tate, I think you might be onto something about Jasper.”  
“What do you mean?”  
“Think about it! The kid’s always sleeping, right? This motive must be hell for him.”  
“True, true… but I just don’t think it’s him either.” Tate got up. “Alright, I think we should search the entire cabin. I know that there’s already a group on that, but we should double check everything.”  
“Alright,” Nolan said, yawning and getting up. “Hold up, hold up. Can I take a nap? That motive’s gone now, right?”  
Tate glared at him. “We don’t have much time before the trial left, and you want to take a nap?”  
“Yeah, a nap!” Nolan grinned and got himself comfortable on the couch. “Fine! Just lemme snooze a bit until that pompous hag gets back.”

Then, the door burst open once again. Nolan got up from the couch and made a sour expression. “Are you kiddin’ me?!” he asked. “You could’ve taken your sweet, sweet time gettin’ back here, but no…! I guess you just had to interrupt my nap!”  
Anabel rolled her eyes as she took off the cowboy hat. “You’re taking a nap at a time like this? How irresponsible can you be? Anyway…” She took Rowan’s notebook from her pocket. “I retrieved Rowan’s notebook. She’s investigating the other three cabins with Jasper and Olive. Now, let’s see what we have here…”  
Anabel began flipping through the notebook. “Cyanide, cyanide… oh, here we go.” She turned around the notebook to show her peers. “Look. According to Rowan, there are exactly five bottles of cyanide in the warehouse.”  
“Oh, cool! We’ve got a lead.” Tate took the notebook from her and read it over. “Do we have time to check out the warehouse?”  
“Hm…” Anabel turned on her E-Handbook. “We have time, yes. Let’s go.”  
“Aw, darn!” Nolan groaned as he rose from his spot on the couch. “We’ve gotta go outside now? This is such a hassle.”  
“Do you ever stop complaining?”

Suddenly, the three heard an explosion go off from the distance accompanied by someone screaming. Tate gasped and turned to their peers in a panic. “Wh-wh-what was that?” they asked. “Did someone try to sleep?”  
“That’s strange,” muttered Anabel. “I thought the motive didn’t apply anymore.”  
“Well, apparently it did!” Nolan peered into the distance. “Yeesh, Anabel. You were right to wake me up from my nap. I would’ve been a goner if it weren’t for you. Thanks, new bestie!”  
Anabel shook her head. “Actually, it didn’t seem too far away. Let’s go see what happened,” she said, stepping down the stairs of the deck and pulling her blazer closer. “Hopefully nobody is injured.”  
Nolan paused. “Actually,” he said, “I’ll stay here. I don’t want to leave the crime scene alone.”  
“Good idea,” said Anabel. “In that case, could I borrow your hat again? It’s raining quite heavily.”  
“Oh, of course!” With a smirk, Nolan took off his hat with a bow and handed it over to Anabel. “It’s a good look on you,” he said after Anabel had put it on. “Can I get a yeehaw?”  
The Attorney only ignored him as she adjusted the large brim. “Come on, Tate,” she said. “We don’t have much time left. We must investigate this explosion then immediately return to investigation. Hopefully this won’t take up too much of our time…”

***

A bit before that, Poppy, Elliot and Valerie were busy investigating the rest of the party cabin. The cabin was quite small, the only other rooms being the bathroom, the kitchen and the karaoke lounge, so only one group was assigned to search it. Though it was the venue for a lively ‘memorial party’ just less than an hour ago, the sudden murder left an eerie atmosphere throughout the cabin. Like the fishing shed, it seemed that this was just one more place the group would try to avoid from then on.  
A flashlight in hand, Valerie pushed open the door to the lounge. It appeared as normal as ever— just like how they left it. The place was nearly pitch black due to the power outage, but the small group were able to make out the distinct shapes of the couch, a coffee table, the stage and the karaoke machine. There were a couple of unplugged heaters in the corner of the room— Poppy remembered placing them there earlier in case they needed more heat.  
She shone the flashlight around the room, searching for any notable clues. “Nothin’ seems out of place,” mumbled Valerie. “It’s exactly how we left it.”  
Elliot nodded. “Yeah, doesn’t look like there’s anything important here.” He headed over to the nearby window and opened the curtains. “Geez, the rain’s gotten worse, hasn’t it?”  
“Seems like it,” said Poppy. She sighed. “I feel so bad for the groups who went outside. They don’t even have umbrellas!”  
“There’s probably some in the nearby warehouse, don’t worry about them,” said Elliot. “Plus, most of the clues are probably going to be here, in the cabin. I don’t see a reason for the culprit to go far. All they had to do was poison the punch in some way, right?”  
“Well, I don’t see any clues,” spat Valerie, closing a drawer she had been rummaging through. “The culprit covered up their tracks pretty damn well.”  
Poppy turned and began heading back to the door. “Maybe we should go check out the other rooms,” she suggested, taking the doorknob. “The kitchen’s probably really important. I doubt the bathroom would have anything.”  
With that, the trio moved through the dark hallways, Poppy leading the way to the kitchen. She stepped towards the door, took the key from her jumpsuit pocket and inserted it into the lock. She then pushed the door open, holding it for her group mates.  
“Oh, one thing,” said Poppy, stepping inside. “Earlier when I was bringing out the last bowl of punch, I found that the door was already unlocked. I figured that I just forgot to lock it last time, but now that… that happened, I think it’s worth mentioning.”  
“Hm,” said Elliot, poking around in the drawers and cabinets. “Yeah, you should bring that up in the trial. Might be important. I hope you’re not lying, Poppy.”  
Poppy turned and raised an eyebrow at him. “What do you mean? I’m not lying.”  
“Listen, Pops,” said Valerie suddenly. “You’re a huge suspect, don’t deny it. You were the only one who had the fuckin’ key to the kitchen! Plus, you made the punch!”  
“I— yes, I did have the key, but I didn’t do it!” retorted Poppy. “I could never kill anyone!”  
“That’s what Jolie said too!” cried Valerie. “I’m keepin’ my eye on you, Reiss.” She shook her head and pulled open the fridge. “Can’t trust anyone in this damn place anymore.”  
“Oh, c’mon, Val—”  
“That’s enough,” interrupted Elliot loudly. He glared at the two of them. “We can debate this in the trial later. We need to keep searching for clues for now.”  
“But Elliot, you’d have to admit that Poppy’s fishy as fuck.”  
Elliot shrugged. “We haven’t found any clues that incriminate her yet.”  
“We haven’t found any clues at all!” exclaimed Valerie. “And if we don’t find any soon, the fuckin’ bastard who murdered Blake’s gonna live and we’re all gonna die! It’s not fair!” She huffed and sat down in a nearby chair. “A-and, even if we do catch and execute the blackened, I’ll…” She sighed. “I’ll have one less friend.”  
“Well, you’ve got Nolan,” said Poppy, closing a cabinet. “Actually, he’s been feeling pretty down lately. He came to me complaining about how he feels so left out from your trio. Maybe after this, the two of you could become better friends.”  
“I don’t care if the two of us become besties or whatever,” muttered Valerie. “Blake’s gone. And he was the only fuckin’ guy I actually trusted here, alright?” She wiped her eyes. “And I’m not cryin’ because I’m some obsessive fangirl, no. He was seriously the only one who actually cared about me here. And now, he’s gone. A-and it’s my goddamn fault! I dared him to drink the punch! Fuck, I’m an idiot!”  
Elliot took a deep breath and approached her. “You wouldn’t have known, so it’s not your fault. And… I wasn’t close to him,” he started. “But I did notice how… in sync you two were. You guys were close. I’m sorry.”  
Valerie nodded. “Thanks,” she said quietly. She bit her lip. “Fuck, I know this sounds pathetic. But I’ve never met anyone like him, alright? I can… I can actually be myself around him. Last year, I had to lie so much to get people to like me. Fuckin’ pathetic, isn’t it?” She gave them a faint smile. “Did you know that when I told my classmates I got into RIMI, I told them that I was the Super Stellar Flutist?” she asked. “If I had told them that I was just the talentless, dumb ‘ol Lucky Student, then they would’ve told me that I didn’t deserve to be there.”  
Elliot raised his eyebrows. “Your old classmates seem very… judgemental. Sorry to hear that.”  
“Yeah.” Then, she suddenly sprung up from the chair and dusted off her skirt. “Well, I can’t just stay here mopin’ all day, can I? What are you guys even doing?!” she snapped, as if she hadn’t been tearing up only a few moments ago. “You’re supposed to be findin’ clues! If we don’t gather up enough evidence by the trial, that old stupid bear’s gonna kick our asses to England and back!”

The group continued searching the kitchen, but to their dismay they didn’t come up with any clues at all. It was peculiar— how could someone commit such a sneaky murder and leave little to no clues? There wasn’t much to look at in the kitchen anyway— there were only a few cabinets, a fridge and a long table for the punch and food. In a last attempt to find something, Poppy flipped open the nearby trash can and began dumping its contents out on the table. There wasn’t much— the glass shards from the old, shattered punch bowl, some used napkins, some cupcakes that were presumably dropped on the floor, and a long string with a loop tied to the end of it. Poppy found the last object particularly unusual.  
“Hey, guys?” She held the string up. “I found a clue, I think.”  
“What is that?” asked Valerie, squinting at the string. “What could it even be used for?”  
“I have no idea.” Poppy sighed and shoved the string in her pocket. “We can bring it up in the trial. It might be useful.”  
“Shit, man.” Valerie sighed. “We’re fucked.”  
“Not yet, don’t give up like that,” said Elliot, approaching the kitchen’s back door. “We can still check around the premises of the cabin. C’mon.” He slid open the sliding lock and the door quickly swung open, the strong winds blowing into the cabin once again.  
“B-but it’s raining!” cried Valerie, adjusting her bow. “I’m not goin’ out there!”  
Elliot turned to face her. “If you want to avenge your dead friend, you’ll have to come and help us look,” he said firmly. “Let’s go.”  
Valerie groaned as she pulled her coat closer. “How long are we gonna be out here for?”  
“Until we find any clues,” replied Elliot. “Poppy, check out the left side. Valerie and I’ll check out the right.” Poppy nodded and got to work, heading down the left side of the cabin’s premises and soon turning a corner, disappearing from Valerie and Elliot’s sight. “Alright, let’s go.”  
The two began searching around the cabin’s premises, at one point accidentally meeting up with Olive, Jasper and Rowan, exchanging clues and ideas and getting back to work. To Valerie’s concern, they hadn’t found anything either.

A few minutes of searching later, Valerie gasped. “I found something!” Elliot quickly turned to look at her and found that she was holding a strange device. “What do you think this is?”  
Elliot approached her and began inspecting the device. “I’m not sure,” he mumbled. “It’s broken.” He took the device from her hands and began tapping the middle button. Suddenly, a strange, garbled noise played out of the device. Elliot pressed it against his ear in an attempt to hear better, but it was distorted beyond recognition.  
“Uh, I can’t figure out what this is,” he finally said, tapping the stop button and giving it back. “But it sounds somewhat like a voice.”  
Valerie huffed. “Is there some way you could fix it?” she asked. Her eyes widened. “Oh wait, maybe Poppy could fix it! She’s the Engineer, right?” Elliot nodded, and she grinned. “Alright, lemme go get her! God, we finally have a lead!”  
Valerie headed around the side of the cabin to find Poppy poking around in some bushes. “Hey, Pops!” she cried, holding up the broken device. “I need you to fix this up for me!”  
“Huh? What is it?” She got up and headed towards her friend, taking the device from her hands and inspecting it. “I mean, I could…” she said. “But we don’t have a lot of time left. It’ll take me awhile. Plus, I need some tools.”  
“Then go get some tools!” She gestured towards the nearby warehouse. “Get some tools and fix that shit up! I thought you were the Super Stellar Engineer!”  
Poppy sighed. “Alright, here’s what we’re going to do,” she said, handing the device back. “You go get me a toolbox— they’re in the first aisle of the warehouse. I’m going inside and figuring this thing out. Run, and bring it back immediately.”  
Valerie groaned. “Ugh, fine.” With that, she took off towards the warehouse, being careful not to step on the wet grass. “You’re so lazy!” she called back, and soon enough she was out of sight. Poppy headed back towards the kitchen’s back door and pulled it open with ease. When she got in, she pushed the sliding lock back and turned only to find that Elliot had gotten back in as well.  
“Hey,” he said, taking a bite out of one of the cookies. “Decided to come back in here because it’s so cold out there.”  
Poppy sighed. “Yeah.” She clicked on her E-Handbook, where the timer for the investigation was displayed on the front screen. 15 minutes left. She hoped that Valerie would return soon.  
Then, to their horror, an explosion went off in the distance. Elliot immediately got up and headed to the windows. “What the hell was that?” he asked. It was difficult to see in the rain, but he could just barely make out a couple of smoke clouds coming from the direction of the playground. He cursed to himself and rushed to the sliding door, pulling it open. “Pops, let’s go. Something’s not right.”

***

"This is boring," Olive announced, shoving the door to their last abandoned cabin open. "Boring, and useless! The murder happened in the party cabin, and nothing was in the other cabins."  
"We need to do this," Rowan stepped to the side to allow Jasper to walk past her into the dark and musty room. "All of our lives depend on us gathering all clues and being smart. If we don't, we'll all die."  
Olive snorted. "This culprit isn't very smart, though. They just wanted to get out of here."  
"And what makes you think that?" Jasper spoke up. "If they weren't smart, we would've known who did it already."  
"I think I understand Olive, actually," Rowan said as she paced around, scanning for anything out of the unusual. With no avail, she continued. "They played a gamble by poisoning the punch. If Valerie hadn't dared Blake to drink the entire bowl, more of us might be gone."  
Jasper sighed as he slowly walked away from the group. "It's all my fault," He muttered. "If I hadn't knocked over the punch, Poppy wouldn't have had to take out the poisoned one."  
Olive shook her head immediately. "Nah, we were all in the dark. Besides, maybe the killer poisoned the punch after it was taken out. There's no way to know for sure."  
"Perhaps if we work hard enough..." The Pathologist patted Jasper's back encouragingly. "It wasn't your fault at all, Jasper. Anybody could've knocked over the punch, and anybody could've dared Blake to drink it."  
"Then... what if Valerie dared him on purpose?" Olive said. "I mean, she's probably not the murderer. But what if... what if she's in on this?"  
"But Valerie and Blake have such a good friendship," Rowan countered. "And I hate to believe she faked it just to murder him."  
Jasper smirked. "The two were practically dating. It's definitely not Valerie."  
"You're one to talk.” Olive grinned at him. "I saw you slow dancing with Saffron over in the corner! He was blushin' and everything."  
Rowan raised an eyebrow at him. "Oh?"  
"It was just a dance. Or two. I wasn't totally ignoring your advice—"  
"Wait, Rowan gave Jasper love advice?!" Olive interrupted. "Man, you should've come to me! I mean, no offense Rowan. But you should've!"  
Jasper avoided her stare. "It wasn't love advice... she just told me to take things slow, and stuff. I asked her first."  
"Well, that was pretty slow," She wiggled her eyebrows at him. "So, did you pop the question?"  
"Olive!" Rowan smiled to herself. "Why do you want to know?"  
"I'm curious! Nobody ever tells me any interesting shit!" She stuck her tongue out at Jasper. "Jasper and Saffron, sittin' in a tree..."  
"Just for that, I'm not gonna tell you what we talked about," Jasper said. "I'm sorry I did what I did, Rowan. But... don't you think you could be wrong?"  
"... How so?"  
"Well... we're in a murder camp. We have no way of knowing who's gonna die next. Like, look at Blake. So really, it's kind of a now or never situation. Carpet die-em, or whatever."  
"Carpe diem, Jasper. I see your point," She added. "But we're only thirteen or fourteen, and we've known each other for a little more over a week. Don't you think you're rushing things?"  
Jasper shrugged. "Maybe. I guess we'll just have to cope with whatever comes. In the meantime, I say we get out of this weird cabin and discuss the case more."  
Rowan sighed. "I suppose. How about we talk alibis? I think we'll have solid ones."  
"Well, this one's tricky," Olive frowned. "Most people were just at the party. Anybody could've poisoned the bowl, anytime."  
"Yes, I agree this case might be a little harder than the last. I too, was at the party the whole night," Rowan rubbed her temples.  
"Saffron and I were out during truth or dare. Could that count for something?" Jasper asked as the three stepped out of the cabin for some fresh air. He paused. "So were Marion and Carmen, though."  
"Yeah, they should've joined truth or dare! Why'd they leave anyway?" Olive said.  
"Well, perhaps—"  
"Rowan, Jasper, Olive," Anabel said as she walked up to the group. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything important."No, you're not," Rowan replied. "What's the matter, Anabel? Has your group finished investigating?"  
The Attorney shook her head. "No, Tate and Nolan are still searching. They sent me here to ask you for access to your notebook of dangerous weapons you made. We think Blake was poisoned by cyanide, and I recall seeing some in the camp."  
Rowan nodded, reaching for her notebook in her pocket. "What makes you think so?"  
"Tate smelled the punch. They said it smelled like almonds. That's a almost always a definite sign."  
"Alright. Here's my notebook. Thank you," she added after a moment. "I would have never thought to do that."  
Anabel gave her a curt smile. "It was all Tate. Well, I'll be off. I shall see you all at the trial." With that, she walked back towards the main party cabin. When she could no longer be seen, Olive moaned in frustration and pulled up dry grass from the ground.  
"This whole thing is stupid," she mumbled, tossing the grass back down. "It's stupid how we have to kill our friends, it's stupid how we're stuck in this murder camp…" She slouched over and sat down on the edge of the balcony and sighed. "Do guys really think we'll ever get outta here? I mean, one of us here is betraying us. All of our friendships right now, they could all be fake… everybody we think we trust could die at any given moment."  
"The best thing we can do is to trust each other, though," Rowan mused. "We'll never escape together if we don't."

Their conversation was stopped abruptly by an ear-piercing explosion coming from what seemed to be near the playground. The three stared at each other, open mouthed as several screams came from the other students.  
"What... what do you think that was?" Olive whispered.  
"Well, we'd better check it out," Jasper frowned. "It sounded like it came from the playground, I think. Let's go together... you gotta be safe in a place like this."

***

“Are you guys… scared?” 

Carmen finally broke the painful silence between them after a long while of silence of trudging through the woods. Marion, Penny, Saffron and her had attempted to find clues leading to Blake’s murder with no avail, and so resorted to blindly stripping the forest of anything remotely out of the ordinary.  
“No,” Marion replied firmly, brushing dirt off his suit. “We solved Thomas’s murder, we can solve this one. We’re a class of Super Stellars, for goodness sakes. There’s no way we’ll lose against some robot of a bear.”  
"The Great Penelope Avery Claire declares herself as brave and unscared as can be!" Penny exclaimed as she skipped through the forest ahead of the other three energetically. "We can do anything together! With Elliot and I's magical influence, we can defeat Monokuma and avenge our friends!"  
“I-I’m not scared e-either…” Saffron stuttered. “Although, I do think that this time will b-be a lot harder. I m-mean, we all saw him die! The culprit h-had to be so smart… and sneaky!” He buried his face in his hands. He didn’t want his friends to watch him tear up at the very thought of their dead classmate. Penny and Carmen stayed back to comfort him, however Marion rolled his eyes and continued moving forward.  
“Oh, don’t say that, Saff. We’ll get through it together, right? And when we do, they’ll be sorry.” The Skier clenched her fists and gritted her teeth, trying to make herself feel tougher than she felt.  
“I can’t believe anyone would even consider murdering after what happened to Jolie,” Marion grumbled to himself.“I mean, whoever’s so stupid to try this trick again… we all saw what happened to Jolie, after all. She was too reckless from the start. Got herself shot in the heart. Wonder who’s dying this time.” He muttered the last remark as to not cause another scene for Saffron, but glanced back and saw his mouth start to tremble.  
“Oh, come on,” Carmen called at him. “That was totally unnecessary. Spooking him isn’t helping our… vibe."  
“Nothing’s going to help our vibe,” He spat. “This is our third dead classmate. This isn’t fucking make-believe. Thomas, Jolie and Blake aren’t coming back from the dead. All we can do is face the cold, hard facts and move the hell on.”  
“You know what I meant— being a jerk to people isn’t helping us work together and figuring out who killed Blake! I know they’re dead, Marion. We all do. Some people, like Penny and I, are trying to fix this situation by helping each other out. It's the most we can do right now. We can't focus on escaping when we might not survive the trial ahead of us! But you’re just being plain mean,” She shot back. “And you know it.”  
“G-guys—“ Saffron tried to ease the tension, but Marion interrupted him.  
“Oh yeah?” The Puppeteer faced her, his face turning redder by the second. “Well, at least I don’t create false hope in this group! ‘Teamwork’ isn’t our problem right now. Escaping this stupid murder game is, and no matter how many people die that's never gonna change. The sooner we realize this the better, because the longer we wait, more dead bodies show up. So, seriously. Who’s next?”  
"You don't even care who dies!" Carmen yelled. "You only care about yourself, and escaping all by yourself. Well, guess what? You're not the only person here who doesn't want to be here. We're all stuck in this camp— but we're stuck here together. If we trust each other, no more deaths will happen! Why can't you understand that the world doesn't revolve around you?!" She shook her head. “Man, I can’t believe you. Just a while ago I was starting to think you might not be that bad of a person. But you’re still as selfish as ever.”  
"I'm not selfish, I'm reasonable. I'm realistic. I'm not hopeful beyond common sense, and I know what really matters is escaping. You're doing what Monokuma wants you to do— play his fucking murder game. But I'm not going to. I'm escaping this stupid place, with or without you." With that, Marion stormed out, not bothering to wait for a response.  
Carmen groaned in frustration, infuriated at herself for not getting the last word. She turned to Saffron and Penny, but the boy had already started to sniff and tear up. He wiped them away with his sleeve, attempting to cover his sobs. Penny had dropped her normal cheerful stance and had begun to slowly walk towards the bridge to the first island.  
"I'll… I'll see you at the campfire, Carmen." In a few seconds, the Seer was out of sight.  
“Are… are we done searching? I-I wanna be alone, if you d-don’t mind.” Saffron whispered and gestured towards the direction Penny had walked to.  
“Yeah, sure, go ahead…” She said absentmindedly. It wasn’t a few seconds later until she realized she had been completely abandoned. Her mind drifted back to her argument with Marion, and a tiny part of her wondered whether or not he was correct and continued wandering aimlessly. That was, until she heard a deafening explosion near the other side of the island, knocking her to the ground. Several screams arose as well, and suddenly Saffron came running to her with an alarmed expression.  
“What… what was that?” He stopped to catch his breath, and then grabbed her hand and pointed in the direction of the sound. Carmen nodded.  
“Let’s go.”

***

A small gathering of people soon arrived at what used to be the playground. The place was in shambles— the swings had been blown off by the impact, the plastic slides were melted and the seesaw had been blasted to bits. The playground was as good as gone. Once the initial shock of seeing the playground in such a terrible state passed, conversations and outbursts soon erupted from the group.  
“Oh no…”  
“What the hell happened here?”  
“Do you think Monokuma’s behind this…?”  
“Oh my god!”  
“But… how?”  
“Settle down, everyone, settle down…”  
Elliot stepped forward and crossed his arms. “Looks like a bomb went off in here,” he muttered. “But how…?”  
“It could possibly be Monokuma’s doing,” offered Rowan. “Perhaps he wanted to distract us from the task at hand.”  
“B-but why?” asked Tate. “There’s no reason for him to interfere, right? He didn’t do anything like this during the last investigation.”  
“I’d say it was for his own entertainment,” said Anabel. “Or maybe he simply wanted to aid the culprit. Either way, we should ignore this for now and return to investigating. The clock is ticking, and we don’t have much time left.”  
“Yeah, Anabel’s right,” chimed in Poppy. “We need to stay focused! As much as I hate doing these investigations and trials, we have to do it if… if we want to live.”  
“Alright everyone, move out and keep investigating,” ordered Rowan. “Last I checked, we have roughly ten minutes left. We should put our time to good use.”

After a few last looks at the decaying playground, the groups soon dispersed from the area and returned to investigation. Tate was one of the last to leave. As they made their way through the woods and back to the cabins, they thought about the explosion. Had it really been Monokuma’s doing, or was this somehow a part of the culprit’s plan? Where did that bomb come from, anyway? And how had the culprit triggered the explosion while avoiding suspicion from the others? Maybe the bomb was set to go off at a specific time…? Whatever it was, Tate decided that they should just bring up the topic during trial.

The heavy rain made the woods even harder to navigate for the Author. They had taken off their glasses on their way to the playground upon getting the lenses soaked, leaving their vision blurry. They briefly thought about investing in a pair of contact lenses once they were out of here. Just before the party, Tate remembered a short conversation with Blake about his own contacts. Tate had found it quite funny that the boy had gotten violet colored ones for “the sake of looking 50% more fabulous than ever”. They sighed. Though Blake was basically their polar opposite, they silently wished they could’ve known him better before he died.

Suddenly, a familiar jingle played out of the E-Handbook in their pocket.

****

* DING DONG, DONG DING *

****

****  


With wide eyes, Tate turned to the nearest monitor, where Monokuma’s obnoxious face soon appeared. Was time really up already? They frantically pulled out their E-Handbook only to find that there was still ten minutes remaining. Their stomach sank when they realized that the jingle did not signify the end of investigation— rather, it signified something much, much worse.  
“Upupupu! You’ll never believe it!” cackled Monokuma, setting down his drink and relaxing in his throne. “But another body has been discovered! Everyone, please report to the warehouse ASAP!”

Without hesitation, Tate instantly shoved their E-Handbook back into their coat pocket and began bolting towards the direction of the warehouse. Once they arrived at the familiar steel doors, they took a deep breath, braced themself and pushed the doors open.  
But nothing could’ve prepared them for what they saw behind those doors.  
As soon as their eyes adjusted and the gruesome scene in front of them became clear, it was hard not to panic. All the blood was enough to make anyone sick to their stomach. Tate found themself frozen in place, trembling in fear.

“V-Valerie…?”


End file.
